The Way We Were
by XxXStarxDustXxX
Summary: AU: Tsuna believed that his relationship with Byakuran was perfect. He believed that he loved him more than anything in the world. After that fateful night, Tsuna's life shattered before his very eyes.  * Full Summary Inside *
1. Reunited

**~* Title: The Way We Were *~**

**~* Rating: M *~**

**~* Pairing(s): ByakuranxTsuna 10027, ByakuranxOC, and others soon. **

**~* Summary: AU: Tsuna believed that his relationship with Byakuran was perfect. He believed that he loved him more than anything in the world. After that fateful night, Tsuna's life shattered before his very eyes. Three years later, Tsuna comes face to face to with the very man who broke his heart once again. *~**

**A/N: Hi everyone! Well, this is very tragic 10027 story that I hope you guys will like very much. I hope that you really enjoy this one because I put a lot of heart into this, and for those who love romantic tragedies you'll probably love this one. Oh, and sorry if some of the characters seem a little OOC. I'm just trying to match the mood of the story. Anyway, please enjoy yourselves, and don't forget to review too!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR!, or any of its characters. It belongs to the lovely Akira Amano.

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**Chapter 1: Reunited**

Sawada Tsuna was getting ready for the biggest night of his life. He couldn't believe that he was actually graduating from high school. Tsuna was exactly the smartest person you would ever meet. During most of his life he went through the embarrassing daily routine of making horrible grades, always getting hurt because of his clumsiness and living with the humiliating name, No-Good Tsuna. He didn't do well in sports, he was never great at getting dates, and he was the shortest boy in his grade. He couldn't help but curse himself for inheriting his mother's, Sawada Nana, short height.

However, not all his years in school were all that bad. Eventually, when he entered middle school he ended up becoming great friends with two amazingly popular boys. The first one was Hayato Gokudera. Gokudera was a short-tempered young boy with short, silver hair and a pair of fierce, stormy green eyes. At first they both started off of the wrong foot, more like the brown haired boy accidently dumped his lunch all over him during their first year together, but eventually they both became really close. Gokudera was always there to stand up to any bullies that were giving him problems. He was really protective of the younger boy. Tsuna couldn't help but chuckle at the many times Gokudera got sent to detention after brutally beating up someone for messing with him. The second boy was Yamamoto Takeshi. Yamamoto was a really tall boy with spiky black hair and warm, milky-brown eyes. It was easy for anyone to become friends with Yamamoto. He was probably one the friendliest person you would ever meet. Not to mention he was really amazing when it came to sports. He wasn't the star player of the Namimori Baseball Team for nothing y'know.

Tsuna couldn't help, but smile at all the memories that he had at Namimori Middle and High School. He chuckled at all the fragments of the good times as well as the bad times. They were times he never wanted to forget no matter how humiliating, wild, or down right crazy they were. Then, the boy suddenly realized how much he and his friends had grown throughout the years in both personality and appearance.

Even though Tsuna couldn't help being slightly insecure about his appearance and his height, he actually became quite beautiful over the years. His ever spiky hair grew slightly longer to the point it reached his shoulders. His big, innocent brown gems became slightly more slanted, but still held an enormous amount of innocence in them. His body structure developed slightly, however his frame was still feminine, slim, and lean something that he also inherited from his mother. Also, he grew several inches too. He still wasn't the tallest person around, but he managed to reach 5'6, and that was an accomplishment in his book.

"Hurry up, Tsu-kun or you'll be late to the graduation party!" The brown haired boy's mom called from down below.

Tsuna, hearing his mother's warning, quickly out of the bathroom after making sure that he looked presentable for the party. He swiftly walked down the stairs making sure that he didn't accidently trip and fall down them like he had done so many times in the past.

The boy slowly and nervously walked into the kitchen where a woman with short, brown hair resided, sitting at the kitchen table with anticipation and excitement glowing in her brown eyes.

"So…," the spiky, brown- haired teen said with his arm sticking out and a slight blush on his face, "how do I look?" Tsuna was wearing a simple black suite with an orange tie. His spiky, brown hair was even messier than usual. Also, he couldn't help but shake with nervousness for the upcoming event.

Immediately after asking that question his mother rushed to his side squealing with absolute delight. "Aww, my Tsu-kun, you look so grown up! I can't believe that you're actually graduating!" Tsuna blushed deeply at his mom's compliment. "Thanks, Mom. I couldn't have done it without you though."

Suddenly, the woman began to cry while she hugged her son. Tsuna, worried about his mom's well-being, held her while trying to console her.

"What's wrong, Mom?" he asked while rubbing small circles around her back. "Did I do something wrong?"

The woman gently pushed herself from his son's arms and wiped some tears out of her eyes. Then, she took a small breathe and smiled sadly at him. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm just so proud of you Tsu-kun. The years seemed to fly by so quickly."

Tsuna couldn't but smile sadly along with his mom. As excited as he was to finally be able to enter the real world and do things for himself, he was truly going to miss being with his mom. He was going to miss her waking him up everyday, he was going to miss her cooking, and he was going to miss a lot of things that she did for him.

"Everything is going to be fine mom." Tsuna began walking toward his mom. "I promise."

Nana smiled sweetly at her son and grabbed him in an embrace of her own. Tsuna held his mom again, his own set of tears beginning to spill from his brown orbs.

"I know that you're going to do great things." Nana whispered in the boy's ear." You have a very bright future ahead of you."

Tsuna grinned at his mom once again before looking at the clock that was hanging on the kitchen wall. When he saw the time on the clock his brown eye widen with shock." It's 7:55, I'm going to late for the party!" With that discover, Tsuna made a dash for the door and at the house. Nana quickly followed Tsuna to the door.

"Have fun Tsu-kun!" Nana waved to her son." Don't forget to be home at an appropriate time!"

Tsuna looked back at his mother and waved at her." I will, don't worry." With that Tsuna headed towards the party.

Tsuna quickly made his way down a few streets trying to find the party. The spiky haired boy made sure to mutter apologies just in case he ran into someone or had to move them out of the way. When he finally made it to the street where his destination was at, he made sure to look around to see if he find his friends. When he couldn't find them He began to panic.

'Where is the dumb restaurant at!" Tsuna thought as he began to pull at his hair in frustration.' I knew I should have came to the party with Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto-kun!'

While the poor confused boy was battling with his own frustrations, he didn't notice the lurking figure that came behind him. Then, said figure wrapped their arms around the boy's petite body. Finally realizing what had happened, Tsuna began to panic as he tried to push the person off of him.

"Hiiiie, let me go you perverted freak!" Tsuna screamed thrashing in the person's iron-like grip." Don't make me get out my pepper spray!"

An amused chuckle erupted from the person holding the smaller boy. "You never cease to amuse me with your cuteness, Tsu-chan." At hearing the sly voice coming from the person holding him, Tsuna ceased his attempts to escape. The boy froze, his brown eyes wide like dinner plates.' It couldn't be… this can't be who I think it is.'

The arms holding Tsuna suddenly loosened their grip just enough for the boy to turn around and see who they belonged to. Slowly, Tsuna turned his body and looked up at the mysterious figure, and was shocked by what he saw. The person holding him had snowy-white, spiky hair. The man had foxy, purple eyes that reminded him so much of amethyst jewels. There was a unique purple tattoo that resided under the man's left eye. He was wearing an expensive, smooth white suite with a black under shirt underneath. Last of all, there was a sexy smile on the man's face that Tsuna couldn't help but melt upon seeing it. Then again, everything about this man made the boy melt like ice on a fiery day.

"Byakuran?" The brown haired boy whispered as he stared at the purple gems that he longed for. The white haired man's smile became larger upon hearing his name come from those sweet lips." It's been a long time hasn't it, Tsu-chan?"

Tsuna smiled sweetly, feeling tears of pure utter happiness swell up in eyes as he wrapped his small arms around the bigger man tightly." I can't believe it. You're here, you're really here." Byakuran tightened his arms around the smaller male and he bent down to bury his face in the shorter boy's soft hair. The snowy haired man inhaled the scent of oranges and strawberries, his body shook slightly from smelling the wonderful fragrance." I'm back, Tsu-chan. I missed you so much." The brown haired boy buried his own face on the taller man's chest. His legs almost gave out when he smelt the scent of expensive cologne and marshmallows. "I missed you a lot too, Byakuran."

Tsuna was so incredibly happy that the love of his life was back in Japan. This man, who was holding him with such love and passion, was his first and only boyfriend of three years. At first when Tsuna was younger, he had a crush on a girl named, Sasagawa Kyoko. When he tried to ask her out on Valentine's Day, she gently rejected him telling him that she only saw him as a close friend. Surprisingly, he didn't take it as hard as he believed he would. He was at least happy that he was still friends with the girl. Afterwards, Tsuna hadn't developed a crush on any other person…that was until he entered his first year of high school.

~* Flashback *~

It was a warm day, with a slight breeze flowing through the air. It was Tsuna's lunch period, and he decided to spend some time alone under a cherry blossom tree. Tsuna had never been so lonely in his life. As he predicted, Yamamoto and Gokudera started dating during the summer, and in their own way they were inseparable. Don't get him wrong, he was really happy for his friends, but it sometimes left a lonely feeling clawing at his heart seeing as he didn't have someone of his own. Not only that, but it seemed that all his other friends like Kyoko, Haru, heck even Kyoko's older brother, Ryohei, the boxing-obsessed maniac, seemed to have someone special in their life. However, there was one person that managed to catch Tsuna's attention, but sadly Tsuna knew that they were out of his reach. Besides, the person that he has a crush on didn't seem to know he existed anyway.

'He would never want me anyway.' The poor boy thought sadly while he continued munching on a rice cake.' Nobody wants to be with a no good loser like me.'

While the spiky haired brown quietly ate from his bento in sadness and solitude, he didn't notice the person that was slowly making their way towards his direction. The person stopped in front of the younger boy and asked in a gentle voice," Why are you out here all by yourself? Aren't you lonely?"

Tsuna looked with a surprised expression upon hearing the person's voice. Brown orbs met purple orbs and in that moment Tsuna's heart began to beat wildly. He could not believe his eyes. There he was, Gesso Byakuran, a senior, the most popular and richest boy in school, and his crush was standing right in front of him and talking to him! The younger boy's face began to heat up with embarrassment. He felt that at any moment he was going to faint or possibly die of a heart attack.

"Umm… I… uh…," Tsuna couldn't get words to form in his mouth. The older boy chuckled at the younger boy's stuttering and embarrassment. He could not help but find the boy awfully cute.

"Well, do you mind if I join you?" The white haired boy asked, his eyes glowing like sparkling gems in the sunlight.

Tsuna quickly got a hold of himself before quickly replied in a timid voice," Yes. I don't mind at all." Happy with that statement, the older boy happily sat beside the younger boy, pulling out a bag of marshmallows after he did so.

For a while the two sat in complete silence. Tsuna shyly kept his gaze at his lunch. He had never been so nervous yet happy before in his life. The boy that he had the biggest crush on was eating lunch with him of all people! The younger boy wanted to look up and gaze at the angel beside him, but his shyness kept him from doing so.

"Do you always come out here by yourself?" The older boy broke the silence after munching on a few marshmallows.

Tsuna looked up slightly before answering back." Sometimes I do when I need some time to ponder my thoughts."

Byakuran smiled at this and then asked," What were you thinking about?" The smaller boy was surprised at the senior's question. He blush became even redder because if he told the older boy what was really on his mind, he would probably laugh at him.

"Well…," Tsuna spoke in a quiet voice, "I was sort of thinking about a person that I kind of like."

The white haired boy's eyes flashed after hearing this, but the younger boy did not notice the older boy's reaction. Byakuran looked down at Tsuna and saw the boy's red face.

"Does this person know that you like them?" The purple eyed boy asked, his calculating gaze never leaving the boy's face. Tsuna shook his head slightly with a now sad look on his face." No I don't think so. He probably doesn't knew that I exist, and plus he probably already has a special someone in his life."

Then, Tsuna bravely looked into Byakuran's purple eyes. A slight smile blossomed on his heart shaped face. "And, I'm okay with that. If he's happy, then I'm happy too, and that's all that matters."

Byakuran's eyes widen at hearing the boy's confession. He looked into those brown, sparkling gems that seemed to hold such loneliness, but with a small hint of joy as well. The white haired boy couldn't look away from those eyes. Something about those gems made the older boy's emotions run wild with excitement. Also, something about those eyes made his heart clench in his chest painfully.

After Tsuna finished his silent confession, he decided to head back inside the school. "It was nice having lunch with you Gesso-sempai. I hope we'll be able to do it again really soon."

Before the younger boy could get up from his sitting spot, a hand quickly grabbed his wrist, stopping him from retreating back into the school. Tsuna looked back with a questioning look and a slight blush on his face at the older boy. Suddenly, the white haired boy got up and gently pushed the younger boy down on the ground. The brown haired boy looked up, shocked at the older boy's actions. Then, the white haired boy lowered his body on top of Tsuna's.

"Hiiie, Gesso-sempai, what are you doing!" The younger boy squealed blushing for what seemed like the billionth time that day. The older boy, however, didn't answer him. He gently pushed his body on top of the younger boy. Tsuna looked up at the taller boy and saw that his eyes were glazed with an emotion that he couldn't recognize. The snowy haired boy grabbed boy the sides of Tsuna's face with his large hands, slowly lowered his face and kissed the boy.

Tsuna's body completely froze at this action. Was Byakuran, the most popular and wanted boy in school, really on top of him and kissing him? This had to be a dream. This couldn't possibly be real. The younger boy's body then became hot with need and desire. How long did he dream for a moment like this to happen?

Without realizing it, the boy suddenly moaned when he felt the older boy's teeth nip at his lower lip. The younger boy then found himself wrapping his arms around the older boy's neck. Byakuran enjoyed hearing the sweet melody of the younger boy's moans and small gasps. The boy had no idea what he was doing to him. Then, the older boy swiped his tongue against the younger boy's lower lip, begging for the entry into his sweet mouth. Timidly, the younger boy parted his lips and the older boy's tongue slid into his mouth.

Tsuna gasped slightly when the older boy's long, thick muscle entered his mouth and traveled to every part it that it could reach. Byakuran really enjoyed tasting the boy's sweet mouth. He felt like he had tasted the forbidden fruit, and he loved every moment of it. Soon both the boy's tongues danced together. The two of them moaned loudly together, the desire for one another slightly rising.

Just like every other dream, their kiss came to an end when both of the boy's lungs screamed for oxygen. They both gasped for the air they both desperately needed. After they regained themselves, they both looked stared deeply into each other's eyes. Byakuran gently rubbed his thumb across Tsuna's cheek, while the younger boy stared back at him with love in his eyes.

"Why did you kiss me, Gesso-sempai?" Tsuna asked the older boy quietly now that the thought entered his mind. Byakuran laughed gently at the question before kissing the boy's forehead.

"I kissed you because I realized how much I need you in my life, Tsu-chan."

~* End of Flashback *~

It was after that day that Tsuna and Byakuran started dating one another. It became quite a shock when everyone in the school discovered that the rich boy, Gesso Byakuran was dating a younger student, Sawada Tsunayoshi. The two of them loved being with one another so much that it practically hurt. They could care less what everyone else thought, despite their thoughts being either positive or negative.

Even the two boys were very much in love with one another, it soon became heart breaking once Byakuran graduated from the school, and had a scholarship to a university overseas. Tsuna was sad when his boyfriend told him the news, but he kept his heart strong and wished him the best of luck. The younger boy knew that the snowy haired man was very intelligent, and he wanted nothing but the best for the older man.

After Byakuran left, the two began to communicate with each other in every possible way. Then, they soon started communicating less and less because of their busy schedules. However, this didn't stop the two from sending messages every once in a while.

Tsuna's eyes began to water after his remembered all of the memories that they shared with one another. His heart began to beat fast when he felt a large hand tilt his chin to meet the other's gaze. The younger boy knew what the other wanted, and he would happily give it to him.

The younger boy had to stand on his tip toes because of his boyfriend's massive height. He quickly wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's neck so that he wouldn't lose balance. Of course, Byakuran gave his little lover some assistance by bending down and capturing his delicious lips. Their lips touched ever so gently against one another. There was years of need and want in the kiss that the shared. The older man wrapped his arms around Tsuna's slim waist, slightly pushing the boy against his body. Tsuna moaned as he felt those teeth brush against his lower lip. He really wanted to continue, but seeing as they were in a public place, they had to stop.

After the two broke a part, Tsuna lowered his body so that he was standing on his feet again. He looked up at his lover with glowing eyes. Byakuran looked down at the boy, his own eyes glowing as well.

"I love you so much, Byakuran." Tsuna told the man as he embraced him once again. Byakuran soon followed this action by wrapping his own arms around the boy.

"And, I love you too, Tsu-chan." The man breathed into Tsuna's ear. "More than you could ever know."

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**A/N: Woah! I never thought I would type so much for the first chapter! Well, I hope all of you guys enjoyed this a lot, and remember to review too. See you next time!**


	2. Unwanted Denial

**~* Title: The Way We Were *~**

**~* Rating: M *~**

**~* Pairing(s): ByakuranxTsuna 10027, ByakuranxOC, and others soon. *~**

**~* Summary: AU: Tsuna believed that his relationship with Byakuran was perfect. He believed that he loved him more than anything in the world. After that fateful night, Tsuna's life shattered before his very eyes. Three years later, Tsuna comes face to face to with the very man who broke his heart once again. *~**

**A/N: Thank you for all those who reviewed, alerted, or also added this to their favorites! I really appreciate all of your support a lot! You guys are the absolute best! *Gives everyone Byakuran and Tsuna plushies* Thanks again you guys. This really means a lot to me. Anyway, here is the next chapter! And, remember to review! Please enjoy! =3**

**~* Special Thanks To: fuwacchi, rachel-chanX3, tdotp, StaplerPrincessofDoom, luukia, Fire-tan - Element Star, julesstar, TakeshiYamamoto2980, kawaii-girlz, rsxus, Asmodeus of the Seven Hell, marialeiah, animebaka14, WaterEnchantress, Verlorener Engel *~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR!, or any of its characters. It belongs to the lovely Akira Amano.

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**Chapter 2: Unwanted Denial**

"You have no idea how long I have waited to hold you like this again." Byakuran told Tsuna as he remembered missing holding the brown haired boy in his arms. The white haired man's hands found their way into the brunette's hair. He gently stroked the soft locks with his long fingers. It felt like he was touching pure silk.

"And, you have no idea how long I waited for you to hold me again." Tsuna replied back, rubbing the older man's back with his small hands. Byakuran shivered as he felt the boy's gentle touch. God, the things the boy did to him. Everything about the boy drove his body out of control. He loved everything about Tsuna from his hair, his face, his eyes, his lips, his scent… his body. The snowy haired man mentally shivered at the thought of how beautiful the boy had become. He desired to roam his hands all over him. To memorize every curve that graced his fingers. To touch every piece of skin that he could possibly reach.

"Umm…," Tsuna broke Byakuran out of his small train of thought, "there's a graduation party that I'm supposed to be going to. Do you want to come with me?"

Byakuran stood dazed for a moment, after being broken from his innermost desirable thoughts about the boy, but then smiled at his little lover's question. His Tsu-chan didn't have to ask him do anything. He would be honored to attend the party with him especially since he hadn't seen Tsuna in such a long time.

"Of course I would love to go, Tsu-chan. I wouldn't miss your graduation party for anything else in the world."

"I'm really happy to hear that!" The brown haired boy exclaimed joyfully." We better hurry before we end up arriving too late."

With that Tsuna grabbed Byakuran's hand and they both headed to the party together.

**~* XxX ~* 10027 *~ XxX *~**

It didn't take the boys long before they finally managed to arrive at the party. After searching around for what seemed like forever to Tsuna, Byakuran was able to point out some of Tsuna's friends that were already inside having a great time.

"Wow, Byakuran!" Tsuna said, amazed by his boyfriend's sharp eyesight. "You're really amazing! I wouldn't have been able to point them out from such a far distance." The purple eyed boy just smiled at the brown haired boy's cuteness. "It really wasn't that hard to spot them, Tsu-chan. You were always with them when you were in, so it was really easy to point them out."

Tsuna blushed in slight embarrassment, and smiled sheepishly." Yeah, I guess you're right about that."

They both walked towards the bustling restaurant. As the boys got closer, Tsuna tighten his grip on Byakuran's hand. The white haired man looked down at the younger boy in slight confusion.

"I'm sorry." Tsuna said, feeling a little ashamed at his action. "I guess I'm just a little nervous that's all."

"It's all right, Tsu-chan." Byakuran smiled at the brunette. "You have nothing to be nervous about. Just try to have fun, okay?" The younger boy smiled at his boyfriend's encouragement and nodded his head in agreement. "All right, I will."

As the two entered the restaurant, they were immediately swarmed by Tsuna's friends. Tsuna was surprised by how many people were waiting for his arrival. He felt really happy to know that a lot of people cared about his well being.

"Tsuna-san!" Gokudera yelled as he gently pushed his way through the crowd of people to stand in front of the brunette." I'm so glad you're here!"

"Hey, Tsuna." Yamamoto grinned gently as he stood besides his fiery, silver haired lover. "You look really nice tonight."

"Tsuna-san, I'm glad that you could make it!" Haru cheerfully greeted the spiky haired boy. The brown haired boy greeted Haru back with such kindness that the girl couldn't help but blush.

"GEEZ, SAWADA!" Ryohei yelled, causing Tsuna to flinch in surprise from the loudness. "I almost thought you weren't coming, but I'm happy you did, TO THE EXTREME!"

"Tsu-kun, I'm happy that you decided to come." Kyoko's sweet, quite voice chimed as she smiled at the boy. Tsuna returned the smile with a benevolent smile of his own.

"Don't cause any trouble, Herbivore." The silent, deadly tone and soul-piercing glare from Hibari Kyoya sent chills down Tsuna's spine. "If you do, I'll bite you to death."

Despite being slightly afraid, Tsuna grinned generously at all his friends. He was glad that he could spend a special night with all the people that he cared about. The boy decided that he was going to have the time of his life, and make this an experience he would never forget.

"Hey, Byakuran-san is here too!" A surprised voice cried out as soon as the white haired man was spotted. Byakuran then gave everyone his signature, foxy grin. "What's up, everyone?" With that, a lot of people soon surrounded around the snowy haired man, asking him all kinds of questions about how he had been after being gone for so long.

Even though he felt slightly left out, Tsuna only looked on with a lonely expression and smiled sadly at the attention that his white haired boyfriend was receiving**. **'After all this time, Byakuran is still as popular as ever.'

Soon, a lot of girls tried to use their so-called "charms" and batting their eyes flirtatiously to try to get the older man's attention. The younger boy felt a pang of jealousy as he saw _his_ boyfriend talking to them with his ever so charming smile. Not wanting to see the display any longer, Tsuna then decided to take a seat at an empty table so he could let his lover catch up with his friends and admirers.

Byakuran noticed the younger boy's departure away from the crowd. His amethyst eyes softened with sadness. He felt really guilty after spotting the melancholy look on the boy's face. Immediately, the purple eyed boy excused himself away from the large group, and waltzed his way towards his young brunette.

Once he reached the boy, the older man wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulders. "Are you alright, Tsu-chan?"

Tsuna jumped slightly, surprised at the older man's quiet arrival. Byakuran had always been known for being stealthy and sneaky, so this shouldn't have surprised him so much. The brown haired boy kept his eyes down, not wanting to meet the older man's piercing gaze.

"I'm fine." Tsuna said in a voice so quiet that Byakuran barely caught what he said. "I just needed some time to thin, that's all." Byakuran, however, didn't accept Tsuna's response. He had been with Tsuna long enough to know when the boy was trying to hide something, or when he wasn't telling the truth. It really pained him to see Tsuna in such a state that he would lie to him. He never wanted to see his precious Tsu-chan sad or upset.

"Tsu-chan, I know when you are lying to me. Please tell me what's wrong, and this time I want the truth."

Tsuna flinched when he realized that Byakuran saw through his reply. The brown haired boy then gave out a big sigh, knowing that he wouldn't be able to escape this. He then looked up at the white haired man with teary eyes. He really despised lying to Byakuran. The older man deserved nothing but the absolute truth from him. Tsuna also didn't like seeing the other sad or upset too.

"Okay, I didn't like how those girls were flirting with you!" Tsuna confessed sharply, angry tears falling out of his eyes. "They knew you and I were together for a long time, but the one moment they see you they're all over you! It's sickening!"

Byakuran's eyes widen in shock to hear the angry, hurt confession from the smaller. He never realized how angry and jealous Tsuna could become. In a way, he felt proud to know that Tsuna loved and cared about him enough to become jealous over him. He smiled gently knowing that the boy's love for him ran so deep. The man wrapped his long arm around the boy, kissing his cheek in reassurance.

"Do you honestly think that I would fall for their little games, Tsu-chan?" Byakuran asked while planting butterly kisses on the boy's face causing him to shiver in delight." No one could ever replace you in my heart, Tsu-chan. Not now, not ever."

Tsuna was really relieved and happy to hear his boyfriend tell him that. He knew it was silly to be jealous over Byakuran, knowing that the man would never hurt him. He just couldn't stand the thought of losing Byakuran to anyone. He knew that if someone else were to claim his lover's heart, it would kill him. He loved the white haired man too much to lose him.

"Do you really mean that?" The younger boy couldn't help, but ask the older man." Do you truly, honestly mean that?"

"Yes, I do." Byakuran lovingly replied back. "You're my love, my life. You're my everything, Tsu-chan."

Tsuna blushed at hearing his lover's sweet words. His heart began to beat so fast that he thought it would burst out of his ribcage. The younger boy then kissed the white haired man's lips softly. Byakuran possessively tightened his grip on the smaller boy. They both stayed like that for quite a bit before a thought crossed the younger boy's mind, causing him to stop the kiss with a confused Byakuran looking at him.

"Something just occurred to me." Tsuna said, looking at his boyfriend's purple eyes. "What are you doing back in Japan for?" Byakuran first looked confused at the question, but then smiled as he remembered that he never told Tsuna why he returned back home.

"Well, you know that I come from one of the richest families in Japan, right?" The white haired man asked. Tsuna rolled his chocolate, eyes at the older man's question. "Of course I know that. I've known that for quite a long time now." Byakuran smile grew wider this, but continued his point." Well, my father owns several companies around the world, and he wants me to take over the second largest one, which resides in Japan."

Tsuna mentally slapped himself after hearing this. He had totally forgotten the older man's father had more than one company, which explained why Byakuran away overseas, so that he could study in business to take over a company. He suddenly felt slight stupid that he didn't remember that, and felt foolish for asking the white haired man the question.

"I guess that I forgot about that part." Tsuna smiled shyly, still feeling slightly ashamed. Byakuran, again, noticed this and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Tsuna, knowing what the kiss meant, gave Byakuran a peck of his own.

"Hey, Tsuna!" Yamamoto said, walking towards the couple. "We're about to take pictures if you want to be in them."

The younger boy looked up at the taller boy and nodded. "Okay. I'll be right there in a second."

Tsuna then looked up at his tall lover as if asking for his permission to leave for a moment. The older man didn't say anything, but his smile said it all. The younger boy, before giving the man a quick kiss, then dashed towards his friends, ready to take the pictures with them. Once everyone was accounted for they all, with the exception of Hibari, gave out their brightest smiles. Afterward, everyone went back to having fun, enjoying each other's company, and it was a night filled with laughter.

**~* XxX ~* 10027 *~ XxX *~**

It was now midnight, and Tsuna decided that he should return home so that his mother wouldn't worry so much. His said all of his goodbyes to his friends, and Byakuran, being a gentleman decided to walk him back to his house safely.

Tsuna walked arm in arm with Byakuran. A smile blossomed on his face after enjoying the most perfect night of his life. He graduated from high school, his boyfriend returned home, and he was able to spend time with everyone he cared about all in one night. He felt as if nothing could ruin this moment, absolutely nothing.

Suddenly, Tsuna accidently dropped one of the cards he received from his friends at the party and it started flowing down the street in the wind.

"Crap!" Tsuna shouted as he dashed down the street, slightly pushing some walking people out of his way. Byakuran then ran after Tsuna making sure that the boy didn't leave out of his sight." Tsu-chan, wait up!"

Luckily, the card stopped moving and Tsuna was about to retrieve it until another hand reached for it first.

"Does this belong to you?" A voice asked which Tsuna automatically knew was a woman's. Tsuna got to his feet and looked up to see the woman who had picked up his card. The woman, surprisingly, was slightly taller than himself which made him blush in embarrassment. She had crystal, blue eyes that shined brightly in the street lights. She had long black hair that reached her slim waist. She had pale skin that also shined in the light. She had… Tsuna quickly averted his eyes away from, very large breasts. Not only that, but she was wearing a black mini skirt with a black, tight shirt, and laced boots.

"Umm, yes that's mine." Tsuna said while taking the card out of the girl's hand. "Thank you so much for getting it."

The girl smiled kindly at him. "You're welcome. It was no trouble at all." Then, the black haired girl turned on her heel and started to leave.

Just then Byakuran quickly made his way towards the two, gasping for air from running too much."Geez… gasps… Tsu-chan! … gasp… never knew… pant… that you could… pant… run so fast!"

The woman turned back around, shocked by the voice she just heard. She swiftly walked back towards the two and stopped right in front of Byakuran. Feeling a new presence near them, the white haired man became alarmed, eyes a sharp as knives only to widen in shock at the person in front of him.

"You can't be…," Byakuran started, unknowingly reaching towards the girl with a shaking hand, "You can't be her." The woman also seemed as shocked as him also reaching a hand towards him. Tsuna couldn't help but watch the two in confusion. 'What the hell is going on?' Tsuna thought slightly nervous about the whole situation.

"Are you by any chance Kimura Asuka?" Byakuran asked, his eyes never leaving the girl. Asuka nodded before asking the white hair man, "Are you Gesso Byakuran?" Byakuran nodded slowly at the girl's question. After the two stayed staring at each other for what seemed like forever, they both shouted in surprise, completely catching Tsuna off guard.

"I can't believe it's you!" They both yelled in unison, which made Tsuna feel scared at that moment. The two then hugged one another murmuring word that the smaller boy couldn't quite hear. It didn't take long for Tsuna to become slightly annoyed by the two ignoring him so he decided to end their little "hugging-fest".

Tsuna coughed loudly, bringing the white haired man's and the black haired girl's attention on him. "I… uh hate to interrupt you two, but it's really getting late, and I really need to get home."

Byakuran looked at Tsuna for a moment before breaking out the hug he was in with Asuka. "I'm sorry, Tsu-chan. It's just that Asuka here is a really important friend of mine that I haven't seen in a very long time. I guess we both got a little carried away."

Tsuna stared at the white haired man, suddenly feeling bad for being a bit rude to them. "I'm sorry."

Byakuran slowly walked towards Tsuna, grabbing his arm gently. He knew that the younger boy had a busy night, and that he really needed to get him back home.

"Forgive me, Tsu-chan." The man whispered to silently Tsuna. "I'll get you home right away." The purple eyed man turned towards the girl and gave her a small smile." It was really nice seeing you again, Asuka-chan. I guess I will see you around some time."

Asuka nodded her head in agreement, smilingly sweetly at the older man. "Me too, Byakuran-kun. I'll see you around too." With that the two boys and the girl went their separate ways.

It didn't take too long before the two arrived at the younger boy's house. Neither of the two said a word to each other the rest of the way back which kind of made Tsuna nervous. The younger boy looked up to see a distant look on the older man's face. The brown haired boy shivered at the purple eyed man's expression. He had never seen Byakuran look so… out of place, and it frightened him.

Once the two were at the front door, Byakuran leaned down to give Tsuna a good night kiss. The boy stiffened for some reason at the man's kiss, but awkwardly returned it back.

"Good night, Byakuran." Tsuna said quietly once the two broke a part. Byakuran gave Tsuna a small smile and kissed him softly on the cheek. "Good night, Tsu-chan. I will see you tomorrow, okay?" The younger slowly nodded his head before returning the smile too. After a few moments, Byakuran left after making sure Tsuna was safely secured in his house.

Later that night, Tsuna kept tossing and turning in his bed, reluctantly remembering the events that took place between Byakuran and _her_. The boy stilled his moments so that he was lying on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling. The brunette couldn't help but let his mind wander towards his lover and the girl. Tsuna shook in slight anger at the mere thought of Asuka. Who was she? What was she to Byakuran anyway? And, more importantly why did it feel like once Byakuran saw Asuka again, it was as if he had completely forgotten about Tsuna's existence?

The brown haired boy then turned on his side wanting nothing more than to forget what had happened. He mentally shook his head trying to clear his mind.

'Byakuran would never forget about me.' Tsuna thought trying to reassure himself. 'Besides, Asuka isn't anything more than just an old friend of his.'

'He loves me. He loves me. He loves.' Tsuna kept repeating this to himself, pulling the covers over his head. 'He would never do anything to hurt me. How could I think so ill of him?'

'Byakuran said that I was the only person in his heart, so there's nothing to worry about… right?"

Tsuna then drifted off in a deep sleep, clutching at the place where his heart was painfully beating slowly.

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**A/N: Well, I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter. It seems likes things are going to go down hill from here. Anyway, don't forget to leave a review. They are really appreciated. **


	3. Shattered Reality

**~* Title: The Way We Were *~**

**~* Rating: M *~**

**~* Pairing(s): ByakuranxTsuna 10027, ByakuranxOC, and others soon. *~**

**~* Summary: AU: Tsuna believed that his relationship with Byakuran was perfect. He believed that he loved him more than anything in the world. After that fateful night, Tsuna's life shattered before his very eyes. Three years later, Tsuna comes face to face with the very man who broke his heart once again. *~**

**A/N: Sorry it took me a while to update this. I was really busy with school, and I had a huge case of writer's block. Thank you for all those who reviewed the second chapter. Even though it was just a few, I still really appreciated the comments. Anyway, I hope you really enjoy this chapter. Please review!**

**~* Special Thanks To: animebaka14, fuwacchi, LenIsTheKingLoL, Kuro Shihouin, Kyurengo, chronicXinsanity, yukishira, -angels cry018-, Blaze Break Blade, ****kyothefallenkit, luukia, Reena-Hime, ****WordsPlayAcrossYourLips**** *~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR!, or any of its characters. It belongs to the lovely Akira Amano.

* * *

**

**Chapter 3: Shattered Reality**

"_I'm so sorry, Tsuna-san. Byakuran-sama is too busy with work at the moment, but he promises to call you back later."_

Tsuna sighed as his hope for spending time with his lover came crashing down once again. It had been quite a while since that last he had been with his beloved, and the brunette was starting to miss the snowy haired man terribly.

"That's alright, Takahiro-san." Tsuna replied to Byakuran's butler, trying hard to hide the disappointment that wanted to escape from his lips. "Just let him know to call me back as soon as he can."

"_I will, Tsuna-san. Take care of yourself."_ Takahiro told the boy with a sincere voice.

"I will. Goodbye, Takahiro-san."

Tsuna clicked the phone off, and he let his back fall on top of his bed. He sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. He couldn't believe how busy Byakuran had been since he returned back to Japan. The spiky haired boy knew that the man had a huge responsibility now that he was taking over the company that his father had given him, but he didn't think that the man would be _this_ busy.

The boy rolled over to his side as he closed his eyes, and let his mind be consumed by thoughts of his boyfriend and…her. Tsuna felt his stomach twist as he thought about the dark haired woman that he encountered with Byakuran the night after the graduation party.

'Asuka…,' Tsuna thought to himself with slight distaste.

Jealousy began to burn deep inside the boy, but he couldn't help it. Asuka was a really pretty girl, as much as he hated to admit it. She seemed like she could be a nice person, but Tsuna honestly didn't really want to be the one to find out. Also, the girl, obviously, was someone special to Byakuran to make him embrace her the way he did.

'And, Byakuran…,' the boy frowned as he thought about his lover. 'He's been acting really strange lately.' Tsuna had observed the white haired man's behavior and noticed that Byakuran wasn't really acting like his usual flirty, happy self. He first discovered these changes when he went on a date with the man not too long after the party took place.

~* Flashback *~

Tsuna and Byakuran were sitting at a beautiful candle-lit table in one of the most luxurious restaurants in Namimori. At first, Tsuna complained telling the snowy haired man that he didn't have to take him somewhere so extravagant. He also told him that he didn't have to book the entire restaurant off so that they could have a quiet, private dinner together. Byakuran simply smiled and told Tsuna that he deserved nothing less than the best and that he wanted to have him all to himself for the night.

The couple happily dined together in the lovely, quiet room. They both were truly enjoying each other's company. Tsuna was really delighted that he could be close to his lover again. He missed the older man so much that it practically clenched his heart painfully. He was glad that the other was back in his life. The brunette smiled timidly at the white haired man. The older man gave the boy a foxy smile of his own in return.

After a while, the two were silently chatting with one another about things that had happened after Byakuran had left Japan. Byakuran told Tsuna about everything he had accomplished and achieved at his university. Tsuna listened with great interest and was very impressed by the older man. After the white haired man finished, the spiky haired boy began to tell him some stories of his own.

"And then, Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto-kun both-…," Tsuna began as he looked up, but he stopped before completing his sentence. He noticed that Byakuran had become very silent and that the man wasn't even looking or paying attention to him. The older man had the same distant look on his face as he did the night after the graduation party. It was like he was in a whole different world. He was also absentmindedly pushing his fork in a half eaten strawberry cake he had ordered for dessert.

Tsuna looked at Byakuran with a slightly hurt expression on his face. He couldn't believe his boyfriend was ignoring him. The white haired man had never done anything like this to him before. Was he becoming tiresome of him? Did he find Tsuna's stories insignificant and uninteresting? Tsuna hoped to God that none of those things were true.

"Byakuran." Tsuna said in an audible voice, trying to get the older man's attention. "Am I boring you with my stories?"

The older man looked up at the younger boy with a blank expression and distant amethyst orbs. "No, your stories aren't boring me. They are really amusing."

"Are you sure?" Tsuna asked.

"Yes, I'm positive." Byakuran replied back before he decided to look out the window with that expression Tsuna had come to despise greatly.

The brunette frowned, obviously not satisfied with the snowy haired man's reply. He couldn't tell if Byakuran was telling him the truth or if he was hiding it so that he wouldn't hurt his feelings. Chocolate brown eyes began to water, but Tsuna quickly held the tears back. Even though he wanted to press on for a more specific answer from the other, he decided to leave it alone.

"Okay then." Tsuna whispered sadly more to himself than to Byakuran. The boy looked down at the table and didn't say another word for the rest of the night.

~* End of Flashback *~

Tsuna winced at the memory. Their date seemed to be going so well and perfectly until Byakuran starting losing interest in their conversation together. The boy honestly wanted to know where it went wrong. He was starting to wonder if Byakuran was becoming bored of him due to their long separation from one another.

Then, the brunette's chocolate eyes began to tear up as another terrible memory began to replay in his mind. He remembered when he tried to call Byakuran one day so that they could at least talk to one another for a little bit, but things just seem to keep falling all over again.

~* Flashback *~

Tsuna picked up his phone with a small blush on his face. He couldn't hold the excitement that swelled in his heart as he quickly dialed his beloved's phone number. He wanted to surprise his foxy lover with a phone call since they hadn't been able to see each other for the last couple of weeks.

'I can't wait to hear Byakuran's voice again.' The boy smiled as he waited for the phone line to connect him to his lover. A few rings went by and the white haired man still hadn't picked up. Tsuna frowned at this because it never took Byakuran a long time to answer his phone, especially if it was him calling.

Just when the boy was about to click the phone off, the phone line finally connected Tsuna with the person he wanted to talk to more than anyone else in the world.

"Yeah?" Byakuran said with a hint of annoyance laced in his voice.

Tsuna winced slightly at the tone, but he wasn't going to back down yet. "H-Hello, Byakuran. It's Tsuna, and I was wondering if we could talk with each other for a little bit, y'know since we haven't been able to see each other."

Tsuna could hear a sigh on the other line. "You called me in the middle of work just so that we could talk?" The white haired man replied back, this time his irritation could be heard very clearly. Tsuna eyes widen as he heard his lover's tone. His eyes began burn with forming tears and he was beginning to tremble.

"D-Did I c-c-call at a bad time?" Tsuna stuttered, not being able to hide his hurt. He bit his lip and his bowed his head to where his long bangs covered his brown, watery orbs.

"Look, I'm sorry, Tsu-chan, but now isn't a good time for us to talk." The man said in a softer voice. "I promise to call you back when I'm done with work, okay?"

Tsuna clenched the phone in his hand with despair, but he gave the man an answer back. "A-alright, then I'll talk to you as soon as you can call back."

"Goodbye, Tsu-chan." Byakuran said.

"Goodbye, Byakuran." Tsuna whispered as his clicked the phone off with a trembling hand.

The boy sat on his bed just staring at the wall in sadness, trying to comprehend what had just happened. He couldn't believe Byakuran had been so annoyed that he called him. Byakuran had never spoken to him using such a harsh tone before. The change in Byakuran's attitude was really starting to hurt Tsuna's feelings a lot.

"Maybe he's under a lot of stress from so much work." Tsuna said, trying to reassure himself as to why his lover was in a foul mood. "That has to be it"

The boy continued to sit in complete silence not realizing that tears were sliding down his face and dropping onto the floor in grief.

~* End of Flashback *~

Tsuna wiped some tears that were starting to form in his eyes away. He couldn't stand being alone and ignored by Byakuran. The man used to always want to be near the younger boy all the time when they first started dating. For a time, it was like the white haired man couldn't be separated from him for a long amount a time without desperately trying to find a way to be close to him. Now, it was like the other couldn't stand being anywhere near him and it was breaking Tsuna's heart.

He loved Byakuran dearly and would never force the man to do anything that he didn't want to do. He couldn't make Byakuran talk to him on the phone whenever he called and he certainly couldn't force the other to spend time with him if he really didn't want to. He didn't like it when the older man was annoyed, angry, or even a little upset. As much as it pained Tsuna to do so, he would continue to sacrifice his feelings if that's what it took to keep Byakuran happy. He would do anything if that meant the older man would continue loving him.

He pushed himself off the bed and he walked over to closet. He opened the door and began searching around for something. When the boy found what he was looking for, he grabbed the two items and strolled back towards his bed so that he could have a look at them.

The items that the brunette held in his hands was two necklaces. One of the necklaces was in the shape of the sun. It was sliver and the flames that surrounded the sun had beautiful orange and red stones in them making them look really pretty. There was also a large orange stone in the middle of the sun. The other necklace was in the shape of a crescent moon. The moon was also silver and it had blue and purple stones embodied around it. There were also multi-colored sparkles that shined on the surface of the moon necklace whenever the light was reflected upon it. Both of the necklaces were incredibly gorgeous and mesmerizing.

Tsuna couldn't help but smile at the beautiful items. He was so proud of himself when he bought them at the jewelry store a few weeks ago. The reason why he had gotten them was because Byakuran's and his anniversary was on Friday and he wanted to get the man something really special. Not only that, but it was one of the days that the snowy haired man didn't have to work. Also, Tsuna giggled at this, Byakuran sometimes referred to Tsuna as his "Precious Sun". In return, Tsuna thought of the man as his "Beloved Moon".

Hope was beginning to bubble in his heart. Maybe this was his chance to finally get to spend to with the older man. He wasn't going to ruin his anniversary by sulking over the last few mishaps that had happened between them. He was going to enjoy himself, and hopefully Byakuran would enjoy himself too.

He couldn't wait for the anniversary to come.

**~* XxX ~* 10027 *~ XxX *~**

It was cool night as Tsuna drove his way towards the Gesso Family manor. The boy was thrilled that the day of his and Byakuran's special day had finally come. Since the man didn't have to work until the following week, he'll be able to relax since the stress of the company would be off his shoulders for a few days.

'I can't wait to get there!' Tsuna thought excitedly to himself, as he drove past a wilderness with incredible haste. 'I really can't wait.

After driving pass the woods for about twenty minutes, Tsuna started to see a view of the glorious mansion where he lover was residing at that very moment. He couldn't contain his excitement anymore as he began bouncing in his seat joyfully.

'I'm almost there, Byakuran.' Tsuna smiled as he parked his car in front of the magnificently, beautiful building. 'Just wait for me a little longer.'

The brunette walked up the stairs towards the entrance, his heart was beating so hard that he thought it was going to burst out of his ribcage. When he got to the door, he used a special house key that Byakuran had given him on Valentine's Day. Besides, he wanted to surprise the man so he didn't bother ringing the doorbell.

Once he was inside, Tsuna was shocked to see the main room so dark. Usually whenever he came over Takahiro-san or some of Byakuran's other servants would greet him on the spot. Tsuna thought about it for a moment and then mentally kicked himself.

'Byakuran probably let all his staff retire early so that would could spend tonight alone.'

Tsuna slowly walked towards and inside an elevator that thankfully Byakuran had installed when he realized that Tsuna kept getting lost in the large house because he couldn't find his way inside it successfully. Luckily, Tsuna did remember what floor his lover's room was on.

After waiting for the elevator to pass five different floors, it finally stopped at the sixth floor. Tsuna silently walked out of it and walked towards Byakuran's bedroom. As he strolled down the large hallway, he pulled the sun necklace out of his pocket and smiled at it. His heart began to beat faster than ever, and a blush along with a smile blossomed on his face.

'I really hope Byakuran will be happy to see m-…,' Tsuna stopped in his tracks as he heard strange noises and sounds coming down the long hallway.

"What was that?" Tsuna said as he slowly and quietly walked towards the door. When the boy listened more carefully to the noises, he could've sworn that he heard voices. Something inside him shook his body, something that made him feel really cold. Tsuna clenched the necklace in his hand, suddenly terrified of the noises that kept ringing through his ears.

As he reached the entrance of the room, his eyes widen in absolute horror at the sight before him. Byakuran, the man he loved so much, was currently in a large bed, completely naked and sweating as he held onto the woman's slim hips and continuously slammed himself inside Asuka with such speed and passion. Asuka, who had her legs wrapped around Byakuran's strong, muscular back, was mewling and screaming with utter ecstasy.

"Ah… Byaku-Nngh… Harder!" He heard the woman scream as she held onto Byakuran's shoulders tightly. "Please Baby, Oh God… Faster!"

Byakuran smiled at the woman's plead. He couldn't deny her that, besides he loved the way her large breasts bounced every time he pounded into her with his hard, fast pace.

"As you wish, my dear." He panted huskily as he picked up his speed making Asuka cry out even more. "Asuka-chan~ I never knew that you would feel so good."

"OH GOD!" Asuka screamed out noisily.

As he watched the scene before him, Tsuna's heart began breaking into thousands of broken pieces. The boy couldn't believe what his brown eyes were seeing. He put a shaky hand over his mouth in disgust. His stomach clenched painfully and he felt like he was going to throw up. His heart felt as if a knife was being stabbed into it continuously. And, he felt really lightheaded and he thought he was going to pass out.

'Please… stop…," Tsuna mentally begged, clutching onto his shirt in sadness and sorrow. His body was trembling violently, and tears began to rush down his pained face.

He wanted to run away as fast as he could, but found himself stuck standing at that horrible spot. He couldn't move nor could he look away. The tears in his eyes endlessly slid down his heartbroken face. He had never been in so much pain until now.

'Please, please stop… I'm begging you.' The heartbroken boy willed the older man to stop, but no matter how much he begged, no matter how much he pleaded, nothing was going to end what was happening.

Tsuna was forced to watch Byakuran and Asuka engage in their sinful act, listening to the dark haired woman's mewls and the white haired man's grunts. Each passing moment felt like a nightmarish eternity to him. What he was experiencing was a nightmare, one that he couldn't escape no matter how desperately he wanted to open his eyes and wish that the sick images would disappear forever.

'**STOP IT!'**

Finally, just when it seemed like the nightmare wasn't ever going to end, Asuka let out a terrifyingly loud scream and Byakuran's movements stopped as he released himself inside her with a low groan. Once he was done, Byakuran slowly rolled off the woman and held her in his arms tenderly. Asuka draped her arm over his chest with a smile on her face.

"I love you so much, Byakuran." Asuka managed to say breathlessly. The man's slightly dark purple eyes peered down at her with so much love that in struck Tsuna's core with such strength.

"I love you too, my dear Asuka-chan." Byakuran gently smiled back as he kissed the dark haired woman passionately on her lips.

Tsuna gasped as he heard those heart crushing words. The sun necklace that was meant for his love slowly slid out of the boy's hand, and it fell onto the floor. It was as if the world, the moment Byakuran told Asuka he loved her back, had ended. Tsuna turned on his heel and ran away from the two as fast as his legs could take him. When he got inside the elevator, he quickly slammed the first floor's button in such terrifying panic.

Suddenly, Tsuna realized that he accidently dropped the sun necklace on the floor, but he would be damned if he went back to retrieve it. The necklace meant absolutely nothing to him anymore. Once he reached the main floor, he ran out the front door with lightning speed. He didn't know where he going for he was too blinded by his tears. At that moment, he didn't care where he was going as long as he could get away.

Soon, Tsuna's legs became tired from exhaustion and he dropped to his knees, staring blankly at the ground. The boy couldn't think straight, his mind was too dizzy and hazy from not wanting to accept the sickening truth.

Byakuran cheated on him.

Byakuran lied to him.

Byakuran _betrayed_ him.

Slowly, Tsuna picked himself up and he dragged himself into the Gesso Family's now dark garden.

'Why?' Tsuna thought tragically as he sat down on a stone bench that was sitting in front of a big koi pond. 'Why did he do this?'

Tsuna's now broken and dull brown eyes stared lifelessly into the night. Unaware of what was happening around him; thunder rumble lowly and rain started to fall from the dark, cloudy sky. Tsuna didn't move from his spot. He couldn't move. He sat there as the rain masked the tears that were still falling down his face. The broken boy wrapped his arms tightly around him as he let out a choked cry.

'How could Byakuran do this to me… no, to us?'

'What did I do?

'Where did it go wrong?''

'It wasn't supposed to be this way.'

'This can't be real.'

Tsuna, despite everything he had seen that night didn't want to accept Byakuran's betrayal. However, now he was beginning to finally realize the shattered reality that was now his life, and that he could not escape it.

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**A/N: *Cries* I can't believe that I actually wrote all of this. I feel so bad for hurting our poor, dear Tsuna. I really want to hold him right now. Anyway, I hope that you guys liked this chapter, despite how sad it was. Also, don't forget to leave a review. All of you reviews make me really happy and they motivate me to be the best I can be. See you all next time.**


	4. Nightmare

**~* Title: The Way We Were *~**

**~* Rating: M *~**

**~* Pairing(s): ByakuranxTsuna 10027, ByakuranxOC, and others soon. *~**

**~* Summary: AU: Tsuna believed that his relationship with Byakuran was perfect. He believed that he loved him more than anything in the world. After that fateful night, Tsuna's life shattered before his very eyes. Three years later, Tsuna comes face to face with the very man who broke his heart once again. *~**

**A/N: Hello, my dear friends~! First of all, I would like to say that I'm really, really, really, sorry that it took me so long to update this. The main reason why I didn't update this story sooner was because my old computer caught a very nasty virus that totally fried my hard drive. Also, it took me a long time to recover all my documents for this story, plus a lot of my other personal files. I hope you guys can find it in your hearts to forgive me for making you wait so long. Anyway, thank you all so much for your wonderful, delightful, encouraging, wonderful reviews! I really appreciated everyone who left a review, alerted, or put this story in their favorites. You guys all rock my freaking world! XD Anyway, I hope you enjoy this long-awaited chapter. **

**~* Special Thanks To: fan girl 666, kyothefallenkit, jadegoddess, yukishira , Sayaemogirl, 13animenurd13, fuwacchi, Asmodeus of the Seven Hell, 4everFanfiction, Shadow2485, qqsha, LovelyJuJu, Yukirin-Sama, Fracktacular, lojeloce of namimori, animebaka14, Princess Arcs di Cielo, TsunaxGiotto4ever, codename000, Cuore l'anima della, Orange-y27, JungYunjae1827, -angels cry018-, HappyDuckyDay, me, letterbee96, df14-blacksnow, Anonymous, Akari and Kitakami, XxAllanaMillenniumxX, Yorozuya Soul, iLaviRabi, Shadowstalker, Roxas-My-Soxas X3, TotalAmuto, XXxKHRObsessionxXX, Ritsuka119, Narutopokefan, Hirame, Kaikun-Ichichan-4-Ever, LastCross, Eighty80, justanotherdot, Black134, Cookiie Ninjaa, Dante96, femaleJoey, fujiwarakoharu, HiKaRi-ChIbI, julesstar, Lacri Osa, lolllilolli123, LovelyJuJu, LoverOfTheDark14, Sailor Dying-Will, suntan140, Urge2Kill, YuukiRI, DeathWingedWolf, Lori en Nar, shinbei21, dreamwishstarx3, kamigoshi, YowithRenoYo, aznbunnie, ellen neah, Khirisy, Alrei-ren, athria, Celtic Harmony, Fran's Potential Stalker, StupidNightZombie, marialeiah, Taemin4ever, XxKageTenshixX, Favorator, SasuNaruFan4Life, ixishxallixx, mei-tan13 *~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR!, or any of its characters. It belongs to the lovely Akira Amano.**

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**Chapter 4: Nightmare**

"Tsu-kun, please come out of there." Nana's worried voice could be heard from outside of her son's bedroom door. "You really need to get some fresh air. For heaven's sake, you've been locked in there for days!"

Tsuna didn't move a single muscle from his spot in his bed. He stayed lifelessly still, wrapped deeply in the covers, staring at the ceiling with empty, broken eyes. After witnessing and being forced to watch Byakuran's saddening betrayal on the night of their anniversary, the boy refused to come out of his room or let people inside it. He didn't want anyone to come near him at all in any way. He had also refused to talk to any of his friends whenever they tried to see him. He didn't even want to speak to his own mother. The poor boy was blocking himself completely from the rest of the world. His poor heart was just too broken to trust anyone right now.

The boy had lost his will to do absolutely everything he used to do. His mind was constantly haunted and tormented by the painful memories of the man who he gave his heart and love to.

'Byakuran… Why?' The brown haired boy thought hopelessly as he saw images of the white haired man appearing in his mind, smiling sweetly at him like he always used to.

"Please, Tsu-kun! You haven't eaten anything in a very long time!" Nana cried in pure desperation, frantically banging on the wooden door wildly.

Sadly, the brunette couldn't help but ignore his poor mother's pleads. He wouldn't deny that she was right though. The brunette had not eaten anything at all in quite some time. He didn't want to eat anything. He couldn't if he tried. He knew that he wouldn't be able to keep the food down as the tormenting memories of that awful night replayed in his mind over and over again.

Suddenly, images of Byakuran and Asuka in their traitorous act started flashing through the boy's mind. Tragically, he remembered seeing the way their bodies moved against one another in that disgustingly, fast rhythm. He could still see the sweat that coated their lust-driven bodies, glistening in the moonlight. He could still hear their loud, passionate moans of ecstasy and pleasure. The sounds of the snowy haired man's larger body slapping harshly against the woman's slender form. He could still hear the massive bed creaking nosily every time the white haired man slammed himself into the screaming woman. Worst of all, he could still hear Byakuran telling the dark haired woman that he loved her. He could remember it all so clearly.

Cold tears found their way into chocolate, hollow eyes. They slowly slid down slightly pale cheeks. All the tears that fell became a frequent sorrowful reminder of the boy's deep pain. Both his pain and his sadness smothered his soul. It was truly too much for him to handle.

The brunette truly didn't understand why Byakuran could do something so horrible to him, something so terribly cruel.

Did Tsuna truly mean that little to Byakuran, even after everything they had been through together? Was he insignificant to the older man all this time? Was everything the man told him nothing but a lie?

Question after question kept popping up in his thoughts. For him, it was truly…_agonizing_.

As his tears began to vanish, tiredly, Tsuna fell asleep; his heart and mind emotionally drained once again. Deep down inside his heart, he wished that he would fall into a deep slumber, one so deep that he would never ever have to wake up from…ever again.

Nana, who was still standing outside her son's bedroom, sighed sadly as she pressed her hand softly against the door. It had been days since she had last saw her son leave his room. The last time she saw the boy, he was doing his daily routine of leaving his room temporarily so he could wash himself. After the boy was finished, he would quickly rush back to his room and lock the door. She didn't know why her son was acting this way. She didn't understand what was going on, and it really scared the hell out of her.

"Tsu-kun…" The brown haired woman whispered mournfully as tears of her own began to fall from her eyes. "What happened to you?"

On many occasions, the woman tried to get Tsuna to open up to her. Nana tried to get him to speak to her; to tell her what was making him shield himself from the entire world. Every time she would try to get him to tell her what was wrong, from inside his room he would tell her in a quiet, yet audible voice that nothing was wrong with him or that he just wanted to be left alone. She could only shake her head in despair and sigh whenever he told her this. The woman could always tell whenever the child was lying to her. Her son never was a good liar to begin with. However, every attempt to get the boy to let her in and speak to her was useless.

After a while, Nana decided to leave the boy in his solitude. As much as she hated to leave him, she couldn't do anything to help him. The woman slowly walked into the kitchen and sat soundlessly at the table. Distraught, she covered her face with both of her hands, and she began to cry. She couldn't help but blame herself for not being able to help her son. She blamed herself for not being able to comfort him. And, most of all, she blamed herself for not being able to save him.

'Tsu-kun…' Nana thought sorrowfully while she was drowning in her own pain. 'Please, forgive me.'

**~* XxX ~* 27 *~ XxX *~**

"Where am I?" Tsuna whispered as he sat opening his eyes to look at his surroundings. It took him quite a bit of time before his blurry vision began to clear up. When he was sure that he could see properly, he was surprised to witness that he couldn't see anything at all. The brunette turned his head frantically as he began to panic, desperately trying to see if he could spot anything in the dark abyss. He saw absolutely nothing.

Finally, when he tried to look at his hands, he could see nothing but darkness. Eyes widening in fear, Tsuna stood up from his spot and he began to run as fast as he could.

'What am I doing here?' The boy screamed to himself as he continued to run into complete nothingness. 'Why am I here?'

The boy was terrified beyond belief to find himself stuck in a world of complete darkness. No matter where he looked and how hard he looked, he only found himself staring into the deep, dark abyss of blackness. He couldn't see or find anything or anyone. He was truly alone.

Tsuna fell to his knees in utter defeat. He was panting harshly from exhaustion and he was trembling in complete fear. The brunette always hated the dark. The darkness always made him horribly afraid. It was so cold, so very cold. And, worst, it was suffocating to the point he could barely breathe.

Tsuna wrapped his arms tightly around himself and pleaded tragically in his mind. 'Please, somebody… Anybody...' Tears were beginning to burn in his eyes and his body couldn't stop shaking frantically. 'Help me…please.' He knew no one could help him. He knew no one could save him. Nobody probably wanted to anyway. He was so weak, so defenseless, and who would want to save him if he couldn't even save himself?

Panic, fear, and loneliness were everything that consumed Tsuna's beating heart at that very moment. His body became numb from the cold that surrounded him, and he felt unwanted, unloved, and frozen.

Soon, after sitting alone in solitude for what seemed like an eternity, a strange sound could be heard echoing throughout the dark world. Surprised at the sudden sound of noise, the brown eyed boy looked up and began to search for the source. For a moment, his surroundings were completely silent and he was about to give up once again. But, then he heard the sound of footsteps.

"Is anybody there?" Tsuna called out in desperation, but he didn't receive an answer. "Please, help me!" Even though his pleas were not answered, he still kept hearing the continuous sound of footsteps.

Suddenly, a flash of bright light shined throughout the never-ending darkness, and a lone figure could be seen standing with their back turned in the luminous light. Tsuna looked up with tear-coated orbs at the light, and his eyes suddenly widen in shock. "It can't be…," the boy whispered in disbelief. The mysterious figure standing in the bright light was tall, had white, frosty hair, and was wearing a pure, white suit with matching white shoes.

"Byakuran!" Tsuna cried out, his hand reaching out, yearning for the older man. As if on cue, the man turned around towards the boy and gave him a sweet, loving smile. His dazzling eyes glowed with warmth. Then, he held his arms out as if waiting for the younger boy to run into them.

Tsuna slowly stood up from his spot, his eyes never leaving the snowy haired man. "Byakuran…" the younger boy silently said as he began walking towards him. However, something in his mind screamed at him to not go towards the man. This was the same man that took his heart for granted and broke it. This was the same man who betrayed him by sleeping with a _woman_ behind his back. But, Tsuna didn't want to listen to his conscious despite everything that had happened to him. Maybe deep down inside, he just didn't want to.

For once, he wanted everything that had happened to be a lie. He didn't want to believe that it was Byakuran who had caused him so much pain and misery. He wanted everything to go back to the way they were before that horrible night had occurred. But, all he wanted right now was for the man to hold him and…love him again.

Before he could realize what was happening, the young boy suddenly dashed towards the white haired man without another thought. At that moment, he didn't care if he blinded by his love for the older man. The only thing that mattered to him at that very moment was to be wrapped tightly in the white haired man's welcoming arms and be consumed by his love.

"Byakuran!" Tsuna called out again once his distance was not too far from the other. Byakuran's smile grew wider and his amethyst orbs shined brightly with excitement as the younger boy drew closer to him. This reaction from the white haired man only served to boost the younger boy's desire to reach him. The brunette's heart started to race rapidly as soon as he was only few feet away from Byakuran.

Tsuna desperately prepared himself to be embraced by his lover. 'This is it. There's no turning back now.'

'He's going to tell me that what happened between him and Asuka was a big mistake. Yeah, that's right! He's going to tell me that he loves only me, and then everything is going to be alri-!' Tsuna's chocolate eyes widen in shock as he found himself falling and crashing onto the ground. The boy moaned lowly in pain as he slowly picked himself up and wrapped one arm around his thin waist tightly.

'What happened?' The boy thought as he rubbed his waist to ease his aching pain. 'Why didn't he catch me?'

After recovering from the fall, Tsuna looked up at Byakuran in confusion and froze in his place. It couldn't be. The man that the boy he was looking at was not the same man who was smiling at him lovingly earlier, wanting the younger boy to be inside his warm embrace. No, this man in front of him was staring down him with the coldest, most penetrating eyes he had ever seen in his entire life. What made the boy even more nervous was the dark scowl that now covered the older man's handsome face. It was filled with so much disgust that it literally made the boy sick to his stomach.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Byakuran asked Tsuna coldly, his venomous, icy tone freezing the boy even more. Stunned, the brunette could do nothing but stare at the man and tremble at his voice. The boy honestly couldn't answer right away because he was too scared and nervous to since the man's unforgiving lilac eyes kept him in place, not once taking their unwavering glare off him. Terrified, Tsuna couldn't take the pressure the violet eyes were setting upon him so he turned his own timid gaze towards the ground.

After a few fearful minutes, Tsuna found at least a little bit of courage to answer at the white haired man. "I was coming to you because I thought that's what you wanted." Fearful again, the boy waited for the man to respond. When the man didn't do so and kept silent, the younger boy then continued. "I thought that you wanted to be with me. Isn't that what you wanted?" After asking this, Tsuna then finally looked at the man and looked at him straight in his eyes.

Byakuran kept his cold glare on Tsuna, not once changing his expression since he first spoke to the boy. Tsuna, even though he was uncomfortable, was not going to back down this time. Not yet. The boy had to prove to the white haired man that he was strong, that he could stand up for himself. He just couldn't sit there and let the older man have his way.

However, the boy's new found courage and determination began to disperse as Byakuran closed his eyes tightly and began to laugh. The man's laughter was loud and it sounded harsh, bitter, and cruel. Also, it caused any ounce of hope that the boy had for their relationship to be repaired and saved to quickly vanish. The boy did nothing but watch helplessly from his place. Small tears were beginning to fall from his eyes once again because of this man.

Once the older man began to cease his laughter, he then smirked cruelly at the teary-eyed boy. "You didn't honestly think that I wanted you, did you?" The whited haired man watched as the boy just stared at him with a shock, saddened look on his face. He chuckled a bit when the boy didn't say anything and shook his head in annoyance. "If you did, then you an even bigger fool than I thought." He said, now watching as the younger gasped at him loudly.

Tsuna couldn't believe what had just heard. He couldn't believe how Byakuran could just simply insult him without a care in the world. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be his Byakuran. His Byakuran would never say anything so cruel and demeaning towards him. His Byakuran would never treat him this way. _His_ Byakuran was not an unforgivable, uncaring, cold-hearted demon!

Suddenly, Byakuran slowly bent down to the boy's level so that he could have a better look at him. He then grabbed the brown haired boy's chin roughly and tilted up so he could stare straight into those chocolate orbs. "Can't you see that I just don't want you anymore?" The man asked in a pitiless voice. "Don't you understand that you don't mean anything to me anymore?" He stopped for a moment before a small fit of laughter erupted from him. "Actually, you never really meant anything to me in the first place. You were nothing but a simple toy I could play with for a while until I got who I truly wanted back."

At that moment, Tsuna really felt like he was going to be sick. He felt his entire body start to overheat rapidly. His vision was blurry by the tears that just wouldn't seem to stop spilling from his eyes. And, he couldn't stop his trembling body, and it only got worse since he was forced to stare deeply into the man's merciless eyes.

"Y-Y-You're l-lying…" Tsuna stuttered quietly, not being able to muster up enough strength to speak properly. The older one tilted his head to the side slightly as if he were trying to mock the younger boy childishly.

"Hmm~ I can't understand what you're trying to tell me." Byakuran replied to the boy in a derisively tone. "You're going to have to talk properly like a big boy if you want me to understand you."

Tsuna couldn't take it anymore. This horrible demon in front of him was causing him nothing but grief, and he was getting sick of being treated like a child by him. The boy didn't know how much more he could take before he would break. He couldn't handle the torture the monster was putting him through. He couldn't take this beast wearing his Byakuran's face anymore. The chocolate haired boy couldn't stand how this man in front of him did nothing but stare at him with his devilish, cruel gaze and smile at his pain and grief. The pressure, the suffocation, everything was starting to make him lose his mind. He couldn't take it anymore. He just couldn't.

"YOU'RE LYING!" Tsuna screamed loudly, his despair finally breaking him down. The older man's eyes widen slightly, surprised at the smaller boy's sudden outburst. However, his expression changed as quickly as it came, and the purple eyed man's orbs narrowed in amusement, and a large impish smile grew across his face wickedly.

"Oh, am I now?" Byakuran simply asked, coldly chuckling a bit. "Well, the truth hurts, doesn't it? You can never match up to my dear Asuka-chan~ After all, she is the one who carries my heart with her. She is my precious other half, the love of my life. And, she's everything you're not."

Tsuna stared with widen eyes, his bottom lip quivering in sadness. "No…" The boy said in a whisper as he was forced to listen to the man's heart-breaking words.

"She's my whole reason for living." The man continued, having no intention of pitying the younger boy.

"No

"She's so wonderful and beautiful, unlike you."

"Please stop."

"She's perfect in every way~"

"Stop it!"

"She can please me in ways you couldn't even possibly dream of."

"STOP IT!"

Byakuran smirked at the boy before finally releasing his chin and standing up to his full height. He then looked down at the trembling, broken boy he towered completely over. "You should look at yourself. You're so pathetic and worthless, it's disgusting." The older man sneered at the younger boy. "You need to stop crying like a big baby. It is most unflattering."

After a few minutes of watching the boy sob silently to himself, the white haired man turned on his heel and began to walk away, leaving the boy to drown deeper in his pain. However, before he decided to depart, the older man turned around one last time to say one last thing to the younger boy.

"You were nothing but a toy in the end," the white haired man said without any compassion in his voice, "a toy I could play with until I didn't need you anymore. And, it's about time you realize that." Smiling, the man turned away for the last time, leaving the boy in the dark abyss and in complete solitude.

The boy looked up, but found he couldn't see anything once again. He did nothing as his grief took its toll on his body and he fell limply to his side. And, he finally let the darkness swallow him up. A lone tear slipped down his cheek slowly.

'Why didn't you love me?' Tsuna last thought before he finally fell from consciousness, releasing him from this dark, hellish world.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I really hope you guys really enjoyed this chapter. And, again sorry it took me a long time to update this. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint some of you. Anyway, the next chapter shall be posted really soon, so don't forget to leave a review! See you soon~!**


	5. Damaged

**~* Title: The Way We Were *~**

**~* Rating: M *~**

**~* Pairing(s): ByakuranxTsuna 10027, ByakuranxOC, and others soon. *~**

**~* Summary: AU: Tsuna believed that his relationship with Byakuran was perfect. He believed that he loved him more than anything in the world. After that fateful night, Tsuna's life shattered before his very eyes. Three years later, Tsuna comes face to face with the very man who broke his heart once again. *~**

**A/N: Holy freaking crap! This has got to be the longest, most difficult chapter I have ever typed up in my entire life! I'm so sorry that I didn't update this sooner rather than later, but as you can see, this was a monster to type and edit. Anyway, I made this chapter really, really long because I thought that it has a really important turning point in the story's plot. Also, I wanted to give a very special present for all the people who reviewed, alerted, and those who put this story in their favorites thus far. Thank you all so much for being so supportive of this story. It really, really means a lot to me. =) Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy this mega chapter. Please read and review~! **

**~* Special Thanks To: Orange-y27, letterbee96, fujiwarakoharu, Emozioni Del Cuore, Fracktacular, PrimoLover, KitsuneNaru, TotalAmuto, MissDinosaur, Cookiie Ninjaa, -angels cry018-, Cuore l'anima della, TsunaStalker, Kay, .fristch, luukia, Black Magician Mirei, 0o0-ciel-0o0, claudbaietewilliams, Harrypotterlover44, IchigoStrawberryXX, kawaiizerochan12, Maria2a16, azn-hua, bluenari, Kirai-sin, Lady Esme, mangaromance, ReaperofDarkness, xLilVietAprilx, ****huyter, Inoue Orihime15, kawaiizerochan12, The Lord And Master-Foamy, aya nishiki, MyDearGoddessofthemoonandsun, Puri-Poke, baka-viewer, estaticme97, nlblake, skyinthenightslove, reader713, ****Chiaki Fidelite - Element Star****, ****xXMarshmallowBrainXx****, ****shinnichi, OnnaMienai *~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR!, or any of its characters. It belongs to the lovely Akira Amano.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Damaged**

"Byakuran!" Tsuna screamed loudly as he felt his body jerk up in complete panic and fear. Swiftly, he clutched the place where his heart was tightly for the organ was beating so fast and harshly, it felt like it was going to explode in his chest. His face and his body were wet from his endless tears and his sweat. Also, the brunette's body was shaking uncontrollably and he couldn't muster up enough will to make it stop.

Frantically, his brown eyes looked around his surroundings. Surprisingly, the boy found himself looking at his room. He saw his desk that was currently messy with papers, books, and various other things. Across the room, he saw his television set with a DVD player and a PS3 sitting neatly on a little cabinet. Finally, his eyes landed on his closet which was closed, hiding all his clothes and other possessions from his view. Everything was exactly the way it was before he had fallen asleep.

The brunette finally closed his eyes in sheer relief as he slowly began to calm down. By calming himself, the boy began taking deep, shaky breaths of air to fill his aching lungs. After his breathing pattern was back at its regular pace, he wiped his face clean of the sweat that made his hair stick to his skin. Then, he gently wiped the warm tears that soaked his flushed cheeks.

"Again…" Tsuna said quietly as he looked down at his trembling hands. "The nightmares just keep coming no matter what I do." The chocolate haired boy sat completely still for a while and thought about the nightmare that he just had. Sadly, to be honest, this wasn't the first nightmare that boy had to painfully endure. Every single time he went to sleep, trying to escape his harsh reality by having sweet dreams of Byakuran truly loving him, they would all turn up and end the same way.

They would all turn into his darkest fears and break him.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times he tried to dream of the same thing and it failed, he would never learn his lesson. All Tsuna really wanted was to find a way to release himself from his suffering. But, he knew now that that wasn't going to happen. Nothing was going to make the nightmares stop tormenting him, and nothing was going to make his pain go away.

When the brunette decided to his gaze away from his lap, his tired eyes landed on his orange cellphone that was lying next to his side on the bed. Unknowingly, his hand slowly began reaching for the phone. Despite what had happened to him, the boy couldn't help but wonder if Byakuran ever tried to contact him in any way at all.

For many passing days, he had refused to touch the electronic device because he didn't want to accept the fact that the white haired man didn't care about him anymore. He just couldn't. Also, he knew if he looked at the phone and found out that the man did not even try to call him, he would have another agonizing breakdown. But, lately, his curiosity and his desperation were beginning to consume his mind and inner most thoughts.

'I know I said I wouldn't check this…but…I need to know.' Tsuna thought to himself as his gently grabbed the phone and held it in his hands. A small bit of hope began to flicker inside the boy's heart. 'I need to know…if he still cares about me.' However, when he flipped his phone open, the hope that had sparked in his heart immediately faded away and his crestfallen eyes stung with unshed tears.

Nothing. There was absolutely nothing from Byakuran on his phone. The man didn't call him; he didn't leave him a message of any kind, he didn't leave anything at all.

Devastated, without another glance, Tsuna quickly snapped the phone shut and threw it across the room, not caring what would happen to it by doing so. He felt a familiar sharp pang pierce his aching heart.

'Byakuran…Why didn't you love me?' Silently whimpering, the boy found himself asking the same question again. Tragically, the boy knew it was incredibly stupid to keep asking the same question over and over again because he knew why. The sad truth was that the white haired man no longer had feelings for him. The man loved someone else, and that someone wasn't just any person, but a woman.

However, what the boy didn't know or understand was why the man would lie about the woman just being an important friend. It was strikingly clear that the older man and the woman had some sort of mysterious past together, some sort of deep secret that they both shared together. But, what could it have been? That thought alone was enough to shatter his already broken heart even more.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock that erupted from the door which startled Tsuna greatly, breaking him away from his painful thoughts. After recovering from the sudden sound of noise, the boy quickly wiped his face clean, ashamed for crying again because he felt so weak. His brown orbs immediately darted towards the door, waiting for whoever was behind to make their presence known.

"Tsuna," a very worried, hollowed voice could be heard from outside the door, "Tsuna, are you alright?"

'That sounds like Yamamoto-kun.' The brunette thought distantly as he continued to stare at the door. For a moment, he was about to consider replying back to his friend, but for some reason he couldn't find his voice at that moment, so he stayed silent.

"Tsuna, please listen." Yamamoto said from behind the door, hoping that his friend would do so. "Tsuna, you really need to come out of your room, now." Tsuna couldn't help but be surprised by the older boy's serious tone. He was so used to hearing his friend speak with such a friendly, upbeat voice that he was slightly shocked by how serious the older boy could truly be. Yet, despite this, the boy still remained quiet.

"He's right, Tsuna-san." Now, Gokudera's voice spoke from the hallway. "Everybody's been really worried about you, especially your mother. We really miss hanging out with you, Tsuna-san. And, you need to come out of there for the sake of your well-being." The younger boy's hand twitched slightly at his sliver haired friend's comment. 'Just like Gokudera-kun and the others to be worried sick about me. I should've known that they would all try to come and get me together.'

"Please, Tsuna-san!" The sad voice of Haru cried from behind the door. "It's not healthy being cooped up in your room all the time! You need to get some fresh air, and you need to eat something too!" The brunette couldn't help but sigh slightly. Haru sounded exactly like his mom at that moment, but then again, the girl had always been like a mother figure to him along with Kyoko now too.

"Tsu-kun," Kyoko said with the same sorrowful tone as her friends, "please come out of there. Whatever you're hiding from, whatever is making you act this way, you must understand that you can't hide yourself away from it forever." Hearing this, Tsuna now looked sharply at the door in slight anger. "You can't let what's been bothering you keep you from enjoying life. You have to learn to overcome your problems if you truly want to be happy."

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW!" Tsuna shouted, his anger now slicing through his aching heart. "You guys have absolutely no idea what I've been through! You couldn't even imagine no matter how hard you try!" Breathlessly, the boy swallowed a large lump that made his throat incredibly dry before he continued yelling again. "You think you understand what I'm going through, but you don't!" Now, the boy started to whimper silently, his anger slowly vanishing and was suddenly replaced with his sadness.

"You don't know what it feels like to be so hurt to the point you can barely breathe. You don't know how it feels to be so alone."

Now, all of Tsuna's friends looked very shocked and tensed at the pain in the boy's voice. For a long time, nobody said anything. They were all afraid to. They hadn't realized how much their poor friend was suffering. It all pained them to know their precious friend was in so much pain. All they wanted more than anything was to see their friend again. They wanted nothing more than for him to be happy.

"Tsu-kun…" Kyoko said, at last breaking the awkward silence that had befallen all of them. "We're really sorry if we made you upset. We didn't mean to… We just wanted you to feel better." They all waited for him to respond. When he didn't speak, they all became slightly worried that he was still upset with them.

"Yeah, Tsuna." Yamamoto spoke up again, this time in a lighter tone. "We all just want you to feel better. We really hate knowing that you're in pain and that you feel alone because of it."

"Tsuna-san…" Gokudera said firmly, quietly praying that his dear friend was still listening to them. "We just wanted you to know that we'll always be by your side. You're really special to us, and we want nothing more but for you to be happy. Also, you may think you're alone, but you're not. We'll always be here no matter what."

Tensely, all of Tsuna's friends waited anxiously once again to see if their friend would speak or open up to them. It seemed like an eternity before they all decided it'd be best to leave the boy alone for a while as much as it pained them to so. But, before they all could all walk down the stairs

"Thank you." Tsuna finally said, with a small smile on his face. "Thank you all so much for caring and worrying about me, and I'm really sorry for yelling at all of you. I didn't mean to take all my frustration out on you guys. I hope you can forgive me" In a flash, all his friends ran towards him with relieved and happy expressions on their faces. They all hugged and smiled at the boy, telling him how happy they were now that he was feeling better.

"We're glad you're okay now, Tsuna." Yamamoto said cheerfully, playfully ruffling the boy's hair while making the boy laugh gently. "But, there's something that I've been meaning ask you about." Tsuna looked up at his tall friend questioningly to see that the baseball player now had a serious look on his face.

"Do you think we should tell Byakuran that you're feeling better now?" The older boy asked and was surprised to see the shorter boy's body turned stiff, but he continued. "I mean, he is your boyfriend after all, and I think he would be relieved to know that you're feeling oka-"

"No!" Tsuna shouted accidently, which caused his friends to become incredibly startled. They all carried strange looks on their faces at the boy's outburst. The boy didn't want his friends to call the older man at all. He didn't want them to find out that the white haired man was the real reason why he had his emotional breakdown in the first place. He didn't want them to try and speak to him at all about his situation. Most of all, he didn't want anyone to know the sick truth of what happened that night. It was too humiliating and sickening. The boy figured it was better to keep what had happened between him and Byakuran a secret. No one else needed to know their horrible truth that bonded them together by that night.

"Byakuran doesn't need to know just yet." The brunette said, this time in a calmer voice. "You know how protective he is of me, and if he finds out I wasn't feeling well, then he might overreact and I don't want that." All his friends looked at each other and back at him before the boy continued. "Let's spare him of knowing anything right now and I'll call him later, okay?" They all stared at the boy intently, making absolutely sure if that was what the boy really wanted to do. When he just simply smiled at them reassuringly, they all decided to respect their friend's decision.

Suddenly, a low rumbling noise could be heard in the hallway. All of Tsuna's friends turned towards the source of the noise to see their spiky haired friend rubbing his stomach slowly and soothingly.

"Sorry." Tsuna said, now blushing in complete embarrassment and having a sheepish smile on his face. "I guess I'm ready to try and eat something now that I'm feeling better." They all laughed together at this and they all went downstairs and into the kitchen.

When the boy first set foot in the kitchen, he was surprised to have his mother pull him into a bone crushing hug, leaving him breathless. She showered him with kisses and told him how worried and scared she had been. The boy apologized for making his mother worry so much about him and told her that he wouldn't let it happen again. His mother, in return, smiled sweetly at him and happily escorted her son to the table where he was graced with a large, magnificent feast. Finally, Tsuna was more than happy to finally sit down with his friends and mother and enjoy the delicious dinner that his mom had prepared for them.

After everybody finished eating the wonderful meal, Tsuna told his friends that he was going to be okay and that now he wanted to get some sleep. Seeing how the boy was now talking and actually eating again, all of Tsuna's friends all said their goodbyes and left the boy to rest. Once everybody finally went home and assuring his mother that he was going to be alright, the brown haired boy decided to go back to his room for some well-deserved peaceful rest.

When he walked into his room, without noticing, he accidently stepped on something cold and hard. "Ouch!" The boy yelped as he went crashing onto the floor, holding tightly onto his aching foot.

Annoyed, the boy looked to see what he had stepped on and was surprised to see it was his cell phone. "Stupid little thing." The boy hissed lowly as he picked the phone up to examine it thoughtfully. As his eyes scanned over the little device, he noticed that there was a little flashing light, signaling that someone had recently tried to contact him.

'I wonder who tried to reach me.' Tsuna curiously thought as he slowly flipped open the phone. 'It was probably Gokudera-kun trying to make sure that I'm okay one more time before going to bed.' When the boy opened the phone and looked over his recent contact, his brown eyes widen by what he found.

"Byakuran…" Tsuna whispered breathlessly as he read the name on the tiny screen continuously. Very shocked, he couldn't believe after all this time Byakuran had finally decided to call him! The boy honestly didn't know if he should feel somewhat relieved or hurt by the man deciding to make his presence known to him.

Shaking, the brunette clicked a few of the phone's buttons before he landed on the voice mail option. At first, he wasn't even going to consider listening to the message because he was afraid of what was going to be said on it. However, he couldn't just pretend that he hadn't seen the message. He knew that the more he desperately tried to ignore it, the more obsessed he would eventually become. Finally, he decided to press the button, and he carefully listened to the voice message.

"_Tsu-chan, I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to spend any time with you on our anniversary. I had something really important that I had to attend to and I wasn't able to be with you. Anyway, I need to see you as soon as possible. There's something I need to tell you, but I want to see you first before I do. Meet me at my home tomorrow night at 8. I'll be waiting for you." _

When the message ended, Tsuna lost his grip on his phone, and slowly the little device slipped out of his hand and fell to the icy floor. He felt himself go completely and coldly numb. "Something really important…" He found himself saying sadly as he remembered what really happened that night. Was what Byakuran did that night really more important to him than their supposed love for one another?

Sniffling silently, the boy did his very best to hold back his tears. He wouldn't let himself cry over this anymore, no matter how much it pained him.

"I have to do this." Quietly, Tsuna whispered to himself with his new-found resolve. "I need to know what he has to say me…after all of this."

Even though Tsuna, at that moment, felt complete undeniable fear in his heart and mind, he finally decided that he would go to see Byakuran tomorrow night. If he didn't and he didn't get the answers he so desperately needed to hear, he would probably never ever be able to forgive himself or let his suffering go.

**~* XxX ~* 27 *~ XxX *~**

The drive to Byakuran's mansion was the most terrifying thing that Tsuna feared more than anything else in the world. Already, the boy's heart was racing at an incredibly fast speed. He couldn't help but let out a nervous shudder. For one thing, the poor boy wasn't even near the white haired man's manor and yet he already felt like he was going to faint from his anxiety. Maybe the reason why the brunette was so afraid was because he didn't know what he was going to do or say when he saw the older man again. He didn't know how he was going to express his feelings in front of the other without bursting from his heartfelt emotions.

"Byakuran…" Tsuna whispered softly as he could now see the massive building coming into his view. "Byakuran…" That was one and only word that clouded the boy's head at that very moment. Nothing else mattered to him right now except that one particular word.

Once the brunette parked his car, he walked toward the entrance of the manor with an aching heart. Swallowing a thick lump that made his throat dry, he pulled out his special key with a shaky hand and slowly unlocked the door and walked inside.

When Tsuna opened the door, he wasn't at all surprised to find himself alone. Slowly and quietly he walked through the large entrance hall, thinking about where Byakuran could be currently residing in the house and where he should look for him first. Quietly pondering his many choices, the brunette finally decided to go into the sitting room, which was located on the second floor of the mansion. The boy believed that that was the first place Byakuran could possibly be waiting for him in.

Inside the sitting room, there was a lot of beautiful and high-class amenities displayed neatly all throughout the massive room. There were two large, elegant sofas that surrounded a well-crafted, mahogany table. There was a large variety of fine art and many stunning masterpieces that graced the magnificent room. There was also grand piano sat not too far away from the sitting area. It's black, smooth surface, amongst other valuable and wonderful items, could be seen gleaming in the only source of light that was granted by the captivating moon.

Finally, Tsuna's curious eyes landed on a large portrait of the Gesso Family, hanging high on the wall above a large fireplace. In the painting, there was a man in an expensive black suit that had dark, spiky hair that was in a very similar style as Byakuran's. He also had dark, blue eyes that reminded the boy of the deep, dark depths of the ocean. The man looked quite young in the painting and he could be seen having a somewhat warm smile gracing his face. The man was standing tall and proud by his dear family in the portrait, giving off a powerful aura of being really honorable man and also being a divine leader.

"Byakuran's father…" Tsuna quietly said as he curious, brown orbs slowly observed the beautiful painting. Even though Tsuna was dating Byakuran and he had been to the older man's house countless times, the younger boy had never actually seen the white haired man's parents on any occasion. During the time they started going out, Byakuran had told him that when he had turned fifteen, his father thought he was responsible and mature enough to stay by himself while he himself would stay in Italy and work in his biggest company which resided there. "So if this is his father, then…this must be Byakuran's mother!"

Sitting in an elegant chair beside Byakuran's father was his mother, a very gorgeous smiling woman who had a heart shaped face that complimented her soft, bright features. She had long, silky white hair that reached her slim waist. She had the same enchanting amethyst eyes and beautiful pale skin that Byakuran had. The woman wore a light purple dress that fit perfectly to her slim frame, and it really brought out the incredible beauty of her and her snow white hair and lavender orbs. Also, the woman was holding a grinning young boy who was sitting happily on her lap. This child, the younger boy knew very well, was Byakuran. The boy was truly a spitting image of both his mother and father.

They were all truly the perfect image and symbolism of a truly majestic family.

However, despite all his effort, Tsuna did not find Byakuran inside the room. He knew then that it was time to search around the silent mansion again.

"I guess Byakuran's not in here." Tsuna thought dismissively as he turned around to walk out the room.

Before the boy could turn to leave out the room, he heard a strange noise erupt from somewhere in the room.

"Who's there?" Tsuna asked, his scared voice echoed throughout the large room. Suddenly, there was a peculiar sound of scurrying feet roaming swiftly somewhere in the room.

"Byakuran, is that you?" The boy asked half-heartedly, but again he received no verbal answer. However, the sound of fast moving feet came closer to him, and the boy could've sworn he heard the sound of a small bell echoing as the unknown being moved around all over the place.

For some reason, Tsuna hoped that it wasn't Byakuran. He knew that despite his earlier resolve to confront the older man, he was nervous and afraid. Also, he wasn't ready to see him just yet. While Tsuna was lost in his train of thought, the sound of feet suddenly dashed towards him, making the boy jump in surprise and gasp loudly in his place. When the mysterious being stopped right front of him, the boy was somewhat shocked by what he saw.

'It's just a cat.' Tsuna thought sheepishly as he sighed in relief and looked down at a cute, snow white female cat that stared up at him with large, curious blue eyes. That cat meowed at him soundly and then she walked around his legs, rubbing her body around him in a very loving manner. Then, the feline stood on her hind legs and dragged her small paws on his leg, telling him that the cat wanted to be picked up.

The boy couldn't help but smile gently at the little creature's charming actions. "You want to be held don't you?" The brunette asked the cat softly. The cat, in return, replied with a meow and continued to drag her paws down his leg. Tsuna giggled at the cat and bent down to pick her up.

Once the cat was safely wrapped in his arms, the boy noticed the cat's black collar that had two rows of clear, sparkling stones that resembled a lot like diamonds. On the collar, there was a small silver bell along with an equally sliver star shaped tag that shined in the shimmering moonlight. With his curiosity getting the better of him, Tsuna grabbed the small star tag and looked at what was engraved on it.

"Yuki…" the boy said to himself as he read the name out loud, but the white feline let out a loud, happy meow upon hearing her name. Tsuna smiled at the cute cat's response. "Byakuran never told me that he had such an adorable cat." The brunette said thoughtfully out loud as he slowly began walking out the room.

However, after mentioning this to himself, the boy suddenly stopped in his tracks as sadness started to take over his mind again.

"But…then, there are many things that Byakuran hasn't told me about…like _her_."

Tears began to form into chocolate, brown eyes as the boy suddenly remembered why he was here at the mansion in the first place. Yuki, smelling the scent of salty tears, gently began to lick Tsuna's small hand as if she were trying to comfort him in some way during his time of need. The boy was slightly stunned by the cat's actions, but in response to this, he gently rubbed Yuki behind her ears while giving her a sad, bittersweet smile.

"Thank you, Yuki." Tsuna said gratefully to the cat as she continued to give soothing kisses on his hand. Tsuna couldn't help but feel calm and warm being with Yuki at that moment. For some strange reason, he felt happy and slightly upbeat being with the sweet cat right now, despite knowing that the white haired man was waiting for him somewhere in the mansion.

"Now, let's go see if we can find Byakuran together." The brown haired boy said with a happily new encouraged tone in his voice and the white cat meowed in agreement. With that, Tsuna and Yuki both swiftly left the room, they went inside the elevator to return to the first floor, and they began to search for the older man elsewhere.

**~* XxX ~* 27 *~ XxX *~**

Once Tsuna and Yuki returned to the first floor, the boy decided to go back into the great hall to ponder his options of where they would go next. The boy silently walked through the large hall again, this time with more courage thanks to his new little friend, who was currently purring quietly in his arms. Just like in the sitting room, the moon was the only source of light that guided the boy's way.

While Tsuna continued searching for Byakuran with Yuki curling in his arms affectionately, he did not notice a tall looming figure that was standing completely still against the wall in the shadows, watching the boy silently with sharp, observing eyes. The white cat, however, easily picked up on the scent of the mysterious person and she meowed excitedly, trying to tell the boy that there was someone nearby, someone that they both knew very well.

After a few more minutes of waiting patiently, the mysterious figure decided to make their presence known to the younger boy.

"You're here." A familiar, velvety voice said making Tsuna stop in his tracks. Slowly, as Tsuna turned around, he saw Byakuran walking gracefully towards him in the moonlight. Even with this being a crucial time, Tsuna couldn't help but notice what the older man was wearing tonight. The white haired man was wearing a white vest over a black dress shirt. He was also wearing white slacks and a pair of clean, white shoes.

With each passing second, the younger boy was slowly beginning to realize how much Byakuran had changed over the last two years because the older man seemed so different from who he used to be. Now he chose to wear more formal clothes in contrast to his punk styled clothing that he really loved wearing whenever they weren't in school. Not only did the man's sense of clothing change, but sadly so did his personality, his feelings, and his heart, which caused the boy to feel even sadder than he already was.

"I almost thought that you didn't get my message." Byakuran said, never once taking his vulpine eyes off the younger boy. "But, I'm glad that you're here now, Tsu-chan."

Since the older man wasn't too far of a distance away from him, Tsuna carefully placed Yuki down on the floor and watched the cat ran towards her master happily. Once Yuki was in front of Byakuran, the older man smiled sweetly and bent down to pet his dear cat on her head. The feline began to purr loudly at her precious master's soothing fingers.

"Yuki-chan~," the white haired man said to his cat as she looked up at him with large eyes, ready to listen to what her master had to say her, "I need to speak with Tsu-chan alone. Can you go somewhere and take a nap for a while, for me?" Staring at her master intently, the white cat gave a loud meow of understanding and she then ran off to some unknown area in the mansion with her bell echoing soundly in the darkness.

Now, the older man was completely alone with Tsuna.

"That's a good girl." Byakuran smiled softly as he got up and continued walking towards Tsuna, his foxlike orbs shining brightly upon reaching the shorter boy.

Once the two were standing right in front of each other, they did nothing but stare at one another quietly. The absolute silence between them was starting to suffocate the younger boy. He couldn't take the crushing pressure at all, not even for a second. There were so many things that were running through Tsuna's mind as he looked up at Byakuran with a heavy heart. There were so many things that he wanted to know, there were so many questions he wanted to ask, but he didn't know how. But, at that moment in time, he couldn't find the words that he really wanted to say to the older man.

The most terrifying part for Tsuna at the very moment was the fact that unlike his past nightmares, this was the _real _Byakuran. This man was his Beloved Moon. This wasn't just a mere figment of his imagination. This wasn't another dream doomed to be turned into a horrible nightmare. This moment was really happening before him at that very place in time.

**This was real. **

At that very moment, Tsuna suddenly found himself starting to break down in tears at realizing this fact, but out of self-pity, he tried his very best to hold them back. 'Don't cry, Tsuna. Please, don't cry.' The brunette desperately thought to himself as he tried to build up a strong, defensive wall against the older man. The boy already knew he wouldn't be able to hold his feelings back for long. He also knew the white haired man was way too clever to be tricked so easily by him.

Byakuran continued to silently stare at the short brunette. His sharp eyes closely scanned the boy's face, waiting for the boy to make some kind of reaction to reveal him the boy's true feelings. Upon observing, he undoubtedly noticed that the boy would quickly take his eyes off him and he would look at the ground in embarrassment every few seconds. Then, he caught on how the younger boy's body would slightly tremble every now and then. And, he by noting the brunette's strange behavior, he knew that something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

"Tsu-chan…?" Byakuran said with a worried voice as his hand gradually reached out to grab the younger boy. Before the older man's long fingers could even touch the boy, the white haired man's hand suddenly stopped in its place as he watched the brown haired boy step back away from him fearfully.

"Don't touch me!" Tsuna shouted as he tightly wrapped his small arms around himself. The brown haired boy's body began to tremble furiously and he shook his head as his he clearly remembered who and where the older man's hands had been on. "Please, don't touch me!" He didn't want this traitorous man to touch him. He knew full well that the man's hands were undeniably sinful by what he had done to him.

Byakuran's light purple eyes widen slightly at the younger boy's frantic actions and by what the boy had just said to him. For as long as Byakuran knew him, the younger boy never once raised his voice at him at all. Sharp, violet eyes were now filled with a slight pain. It was truly very hurtful for the white haired man to see the boy acting this way toward him, especially when in fact the boy had never done so before. Seeing the brown haired boy back away from him in such a fearful way made the older man's chest ache painfully.

"Tsu-chan?" The older man said in a worried voice as he tried to reach for Tsuna again but reluctantly stopped himself from doing so, knowing that the younger boy would only back away from his touch as if it were poisonous to him. "Tsu-chan, what's wrong?" The white haired man asked in an upset tone, but the boy only continued to shake his head no at him.

"Please…," Byakuran suddenly begged, his voice filled with utter concern and pain at having to see the younger boy's saddening behavior, "please tell me what's wrong with you." Just then, the smaller boy's shaking began to cease as he gazed up at the man, his chocolate eyes stinging from what the boy knew was his new unshed tears.

"When were you going to tell me?" The brown haired boy asked lowly as he now looked at the man with a hurt expression on his face. The white haired man looked stunned by the boy's question. "Tell you…?" Byakuran's voice trailed off slowly as his mind became even more perplexed by the boy's simple, yet confusing question. "Tell you what? What's going on, Tsu-chan?"

Quickly, the boy's eyes started to fire up in vexation by Byakuran's truly insulting question. 'How could he?' Annoyed, the boy snapped in his head as he felt his heart hurt painfully as his anger started to spill out of him. 'How can he just stand here right in front of my face and ask me what's wrong after what he has done?' The boy narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists so tightly that they turned paper white. He had never felt so angry before in his entire life. He had never felt so hurt, so sad, so lost…until now.

"You know exactly what!" Tsuna snapped at Byakuran as he looked at the man with his fiery eyes. "When were you going to tell me about her?"

Stunned, the older man continued to stare down at the shorter boy, bewildered by the boy's sudden angry outburst and by the truly disturbing question that was asked of him. As the older man gazed down intently at the younger boy, he undeniably saw the tears that were haunting behind his brown orbs and the hidden pain that completely filled those same flaming orbs.

Suddenly, the older man's amethyst eyes grew considerably wide when he finally realized what the boy meant by _her_. Just then, the man felt his heart ache sorely upon knowing that the boy finally knew about him and Asuka. The boy knew about the affair that he had with the dark haired woman. Worst of all, the boy wretchedly knew that he slept with her on their anniversary.

"So then…you know." The older man whispered lamentably. Long, snowy bangs shadowed over the older man's handsome face as he looked down at the floor in burning guilt, not being able to look at the younger boy straight in the eyes anymore because now he felt too ashamed to do so. Tsuna was truly dismayed by the man's upsetting actions. He felt his burning anger and sorrow quickly fill his entire body.

At that moment, he knew he couldn't hold onto his feelings anymore.

"How could you do this to me?" The younger boy finally cried out in deep despair, angry tears rushing down his face endlessly.

"Tsu-chan," Byakuran quietly whispered while still keeping his eyes away from the distressful boy out of complete guilt, "you don't under-"

"Understand what…?" The boy angrily interrupted him as he gritted his teeth tightly, "that you're a liar, that you've been hiding the truth from me this whole time…that you betrayed me!

Deathly silent, the older man was quiet listening to this. Unfortunately, the white haired man knew that he could not be upset, angry, or sad by what the hurt boy had said to him. The older man knew that everything that the boy had said was true and he couldn't do anything to change it.

"Tell me, Byakuran," Tsuna said in a now calm, yet mournful tone as he slowly began to wipe his tears away from his face with his sleeve, "was this all just a huge game to you? Was our relationship nothing but a joke to you? Did our relationship mean anything to you at all? Did you even care about me or my feelings at all?"

The distraught boy stopped speaking for a second, feeling completely breathless by all he question, before he screamed out in excruciating sorrow.

"DID YOU EVEN LOVE ME AT ALL!"

Byakuran looked regrettably down at the shorter boy, his pale face scrunched up in deep melancholy at hearing the broken boy's heartrending questions. At the moment, the older man could feel nothing but grief that was torturing and slicing him from the inside.

"Tsu-chan…I'm so sorry." The snowy haired man said remorsefully, his sadness could now be heard clearly from his hollow voice. "I didn't want any of this to be this way. I didn't want to hurt you like this."

"I love you." Tsuna woefully said with a broken, bittersweet smile tragically gracing his face as he looked deeply into the taller man's depthless eyes. The older man gave the boy a thoughtful, but very remorseful look. "I love you so much with all my heart and soul. I really do. Every time I think about you or saw anything that reminded me of you, my heart feels like it's about to burst with all the love I bear for you."

After sadly confessing this to the white haired man, the boy's sad smile vanished and was replaced by a truly heartbreaking expression as he continued. "But, you have no idea of the pain and grief you caused me. You have no idea how much my heart is breaking because of you…"

"Tsu-chan…" Byakuran whispered quietly, his never-ending guilt kept smothering his heart and mind unbearably, refusing to have any mercy on him.

"Who is she?" Desperately, Tsuna asked as he grabbed onto the older man's vest tightly as his eyes filled up with tears again. "What is she to you? Please…please, Byakuran, I'm begging you, tell me the truth. After everything I've been through, after all of this madness, the least you can do is tell me about your relationship with her. Please…"

The white haired man felt his anguish increase as he watched more tears fall down the smaller boy's broken face. But, deep down inside, he knew that the boy deserved to know the truth about him and Asuka. He knew that the brunette deserved to know everything…after all the pain and sadness he had caused him. Sighing snakingly, the older man looked at the younger boy with his sad eyes before beginning his story.

"About a few years ago, before I met you, Asuka-chan and I…were lovers." Byakuran said quietly, his heart felt a sharp pang as he heard the boy let out a chocked sob. For a few unbearable minutes, he was forced to listen to the poor boy's pain-filled cries as the other tried desperately to calm himself down.

Sadly, the older man really wanted to hold the smaller boy in his arms and comfort him because he couldn't bear seeing the younger boy cry because of him…because of this. But, he knew if he were to even try to touch the boy now, he would have a mental breakdown and the man didn't want that to happen. So, the white haired man could do nothing but wait patiently until the younger boy was ready to listen to more of his story. When he felt the brown haired boy's grip on his vest tighten again, he knew that the boy was reluctantly ready for him to continue telling his story.

"When we were kids, my father and her father worked together as business partners for their companies, so we grew up together as childhood friends. We were always together all the time, we were truly inseparable. She was my best friend and I was hers. Even as young as we were, I always knew that I really liked her and I knew that she liked me the same way. When we both entered our first year of middle school, I asked her to become my girlfriend and she accepted."

Smiling softly, Byakuran's face and eyes were now bright as he remembered his sweet memories of the beautiful woman. "We were both deeply in love with each other and I knew nothing could ever tear us a part."

Grimacing, Byakuran suddenly frowned and a sad expression formed at remembering those same memories.

"However, before I knew it, Asuka-chan was taken away from me instantly. During our junior year of high school, Asuka-chan and her family moved away to England for business reasons, so we were forced to end our relationship and we were torn away from each other. I was so devastated when she went away… I loved her so much that I was planning on marrying her after we both finished high school, but…unfortunately I knew it just couldn't be. She was my precious princess. She was everything to me. I loved her…and I still do to this very day."

Once his finished speaking, the white haired man looked down at the younger boy, sadly watching as the brunette lost his grip on his vest and his arms fell limply to his sides. Now, the boy looked at the ground lifelessly as his heart shattered into many pieces after hearing the man's story. He felt his body grow cold, his mind began to swirl in his sorrow at finding out the heartbreaking truth, and he felt like he spirit was being broken down, piece by piece.

'It all makes sense now.' Tsuna thought distressingly as quiet tears slowly fell from his eyes. 'Byakuran and Asuka were in love with each other before he ever knew me. If she hadn't left the country, if she didn't move away, then Byakuran and I would have never been together. If she didn't leave Byakuran, they would probably be happily married to each other right now!'

As if being struck by lightning, teary brown eyes grew incredibly large as his realization crashed in his mind alarmingly. Byakuran used him! There so-called "relationship" was nothing more than a broken fantasy created by the older man's selfish, deceiving love. The man didn't want to be with him because he desperately desired to be with Asuka. The man never thought about him because his mind was too consumed by thoughts of his first love. And, Tsuna sobbed at this, the man never even loved him because he secretly loved and yearned for the woman. In the end, he was never about him…It was all about her.

He was just her _replacement_.

"So that's it then?" The boy asked numbly, his devastation building up once more after discovering the painful truth. "In the end, I was nothing but a substitute for her. After everything we were together, you never truly loved or cared about me." The brunette roughly pushed himself away from the white haired man as he gave the older man a very cold look.

"You used me for you own selfish desire to feel alive again, didn't you? You used me to fill the void of emptiness that kept eating away your heart. You never really cared about me or how I felt after all." The boy closed his eyes tightly before grudgingly reopening them. "You are nothing but a coward. You're a coward, a liar, and you're a very cruel man, Byakuran."

Saddened, the older man was hurt by the boy's icy words, but he didn't say anything against them because everything that the boy said was true. Even though, it hurt him to hear the boy sat those things, every last word that fell from the boy's lips was undeniably true. He had taken advantage of the boy's heart and feelings in favor of his own selfishness. He used the boy because he, himself, felt so weak after losing Asuka that he desperately wanted and needed something that would make him feel alive again, even if it only made him feel for a moment.

But… he didn't want this to be this way. He just couldn't bear living with his sin of hurting the younger boy. It was just too much.

"I'm really sorry, Tsu-chan." Byakuran said honestly to the boy remorsefully. "I never meant to hurt you like this. I didn't want to hurt you like this…and, I really wish I could love you the way you wanted me to… but, after all this time, I'm still very much in love with Asuka-chan, and now, I can only see myself loving you as a dear friend. Please…forgive me"

The younger boy whimpered after hearing the man's damaging words. Everything about their relationship was nothing but a heartbreaking lie. All the "special" times and memories that they spent with one another, all the times that the boy felt truly loved and wanted by the white haired man, all the times the older man said he loved him, they were all…meaningless.

"Did Asuka know that you and I were together?" The younger boy suddenly asked, breaking the deathly silence between them. "Did she even know that you were dating me at all?" As much as it pained him to ask this, the boy needed to know, the boy needed to hear right from Byakuran whether or not if woman knew that they were seeing each other or not.

"Yes…she did." The older man admitted solemnly to the boy. "She knew from the first moment she saw together that night of your graduation party."

After hearing this, the boy quickly looked up at the older man with a modified expression on his face. 'She knew?' The boy screamed in his head, his anger and sadness was now swimming furiously in his mind and heart like a raging storm. 'That heartless witch knew this whole time and she still slept with him! How could she do something so awful?'

"How…!" The heartbroken boy shouted in grief at the older man, all of his agony rushed out of him uncontrollably. "How could you love someone like her? She knew that we were together and yet she still pursued you and had an affair with you? How could you love such cruel, heartless, disgusting, wo-"

**SLAP! **

Tsuna cried out in a mixture of surprise and pain as he felt a large hand strike his cheek fiercely. Pain… pain was all the boy could feel as he felt himself falling and crashing painfully into the ground. After the boy fell, he slowly pushed his upper body off the floor and he brought his hand towards his aching right cheek. As the boy lightly touched his face, he flinched at the stinging pain that was embodied in the side of his face.

The boy could not believe what had just happened to him. Byakuran slapped him! The man actually struck him across his face with such brute strength and it hurt so damn much! For as long as Tsuna had been with Byakuran, the older man never even thought or dared to try to lay his hands on him or physically harm in any way. To finally know that the man could actually act violent and ferocious towards him devastated the boy greatly. Tears began to fall from chocolate eyes silently as the brown haired boy gently rubbed his face, trying his best to ease the pain.

"Damn you…" Byakuran hissed venomously, his steely eyes glaring fiercely down at the fallen boy. Eyes widening, Tsuna looked up at the man in horrific surprise. The boy could feel his skin prickle and crawl as he felt a familiar chilling sense of déjà vu at hearing the poisonous tone in the older man's voice and by the cold words that were directed solely at him.

B-B-Byak-kuran?" The scared boy stuttered in a shaky voice as he felt his fear spread throughout his body. The brunette began to tremble frightfully at the older man's dangerous and murderous aura. The man's silent temper seemed so strong and malicious that the boy could literally feel the man's rage seeping out of his body. And, even though the man's face could barely be seen because it was mostly shadowed by his hair, he could still see those terrifying purple eyes staring down at him. Seeing the older man filled with so much raw and feral emotions sent freezing chills down his spine.

When Tsuna saw the older man charging towards him, his eyes burning intensely with detest and disgust, fruitlessly, the boy tried to back away from the hostile man, but his attempt at getting away was futile. With menacing speed, the white haired man quickly grabbed the younger boy's arm and yanked him up off the floor. He cried out loudly as the man picked him up harshly and then slammed his body forcefully into the nearest wall.

"How dare you!" The older man snarled, pressing the boy's small body into the wall mercilessly. Chocolate eyes tearing up, Tsuna let out a silent scream as he felt his body being crushed into the cold wall. It took a lot of willpower to keep the boy from screaming his lungs out.

Struggling, the boy began tried push and fight against the white haired man's terrifying strength, however, this only made the man angrier, and it caused him to move the boy away from the wall only to slam the boy cruelly against it again. Tsuna's head collided with the hard surface, causing the boy to cry out in agony.

"B-Byakuran, you're hur-"

"SHUT UP!" The older man snapped deafeningly, slamming his hand against the wall violently, right next to the boy's head. Tensing up, the boy felt his body freeze and his warm blood turned cold in his veins. The boy was so afraid he couldn't even speak nor move anymore. His heart was beating so hard in his chest; it was like a hammer pounding relentlessly against cloth.

"Who the hell do you think you are insulting Asuka-chan with your filthy mouth!" Byakuran spat cruelly at Tsuna, roughly shaking the small boy while digging his long fingers deeply into the terrified boy's arms. Tsuna bit his lip hard at the unbearable pain that was running through his arms. Burying his teeth hard in his lower lip, he unintentionally broke the skin. Soon, the boy could feel and taste his sharp, metallic blood pooling deep inside his mouth.

Feeling a warm trail a blood slip from his lips, the brunette closed his eyes tightly to keep himself from crying and so that he couldn't look into the older man's devilish eyes staring piercingly into his own. He knew if he looked into the man's eyes, the same eyes that he grew to love so much, glaring daggers at him in pure hate, he was going to faint from his sickening fear.

"You know, you have some nerve to foolishly talk ill of her in front of me." The man growled lowly, his pupils turning into sharp slits as he continued to glare down at the shorter, petrified boy in front of him. "You don't even know a damn thing about her!"

After he finished yelling at Tsuna, the white haired man slowly closed his eyes and he took a very deep breathe, desperately trying to calm himself down because at that moment he desired nothing more than to hurt the damn boy badly and rip him literally into pieces for speaking degradingly about the woman he loved so much.

"Let me tell you something, _Sawada Tsunayoshi_." Hissing, the man glowered at the cowering brunette. Saddened, Tsuna silently whimpered at the man's cruel use of his full name. His body shook even more in terror and despair, and he could do nothing but reluctantly listen to the man's heartless words since he was trapped in the man's powerful grip.

"I never loved you the way that I love Asuka-chan. I could never love you and have the same feelings that I bear only for her." The man's purple orbs darkened coldly as he brought his hands on the boy's shoulders and pressed his nails into them pitilessly. "You could never be her replacement. You could never take her place in my heart! Never!"

Byakuran stopped yelling once again to take in more shuddering breathes of air as he felt his temper flaring up again. Once he was calmer, he turned his ruthless attention back on the foolish brunette.

"If you ever say anything bad about her again…," the white haired man said viciously, both of his hands now resting on the boy's thin neck with his fingers clawing and burying themselves intensely into the fragile skin. "I'LL CRUSH YOUR FUCKING THROAT!"

At hearing those heartbreaking words, the very last remnants of Tsuna's broken heart broke a part and turned completely into dust. All of his hopes, his dreams, and his undying love shattered throughout his being. Worst of all, the boy felt his entire world crumbling under his feet leaving him to fall deeper in despair and grief.

'Byakuran…' Tsuna thought helplessly as he pictured Byakuran smiling at him warmly with love in his lilac eyes. Slowly, the image of the white haired man disappeared as reality began to tear his mind and his body a part.

The boy's body became blistering hot. His stomach twisted painfully to the point he thought he was going to be sick. He felt his mind become so dizzy that he thought the world was spinning uncontrollably.

'Byakuran…'

Now, the boy could no longer hold back his tears anymore. He felt them slip out his closed eyes and slide down his red cheeks.

For the first time in a while, the boy slowly opened his teary eyes as he looked pleadingly into Byakuran's stony, amethyst eyes. As Byakuran looked back deeply into those heartbroken orbs, his iron-like grip on the boy began to vanish, and then he let go of the small boy's body, dropping him thoughtlessly on the ground.

Quickly backing off and turning away, the older man could hear the boy coughing continuously as the brown haired boy was frantically trying to gather oxygen for his aching lungs. Tsuna was inhaling and exhaling as much air as he could without hurting himself in the process. After a few minutes a regaining his composure, the poor boy looked at the floor, trembling and too frightened to even look at the other man in any way. Soon, nothing but silence could be heard inside the large mansion.

Thunder rumbled through the night, as the two were completely still and quiet amongst each other. Not long after, the sound of rain could be heard falling from the sky, hitting soundly on top of the cold earth. Soon, lightning flashed ever now and again, piercing through the sky with the thunder crashing nosily after it.

"Get out…" Byakuran said quietly, finally breaking the silence between him and the shaking boy.

"Byakuran…" Tsuna faintly whispered in a broken voice as he finally looked at the white haired man, desperately trying to reach out for the man he loved in false hope.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!" The older man roared loudly while furiously pointing at his front door.

Flinching, without another word, Tsuna jumped up immediately in fear and he ran out the man's house and into the icy rain. Blinded by his tears and crushed by his broken heart, the boy left Byakuran's manor for the last time, never turning to look back. Not once.

**~* XxX ~* 27 *~ XxX *~**

When Tsuna returned home, with frightening speed, he ran out of the rain and inside the building, slamming the door harshly and uncaringly behind him. After that, the boy rushed up the stairs, almost tripping and falling off some of them, and he went inside the bathroom and closed the door in deep distress.

Once the boy was the bathroom, he leaned lifelessly against the wooden door, staring sadly at the ceiling as he felt warm tears sliding down his face once again.

"Why did it have to be this way?" Tsuna asked himself sadly, pressing his small frame against the door. When the boy pressed his body too hard against the door's surface, he yelped in surprise and jumped away from it in utter pain.

"Ouch!" Tsuna moaned loudly, thanking god that his mother was out of town for the day and wouldn't be back until tomorrow as he began rubbing his back and arms. After doing so, the boy noted that his entire body felt really sore and the pain he felt litreally made him tremble. Worried, the brown haired boy decided he wanted to check and see if his body was hurt in any way.

After turning on the light switch, the boy walked toward the mirror and looked carefully inside it. Staring back at himself, the first thing the boy noticed was that he was completely soaked by the rain. He saw that his chocolate eyes were red and puffy from all the tears he shed that night. He saw that his cheeks were flushed from all running he just did. However, the one thing that really caught the boy's eye was a really dark, red mark that was currently on his right cheek.

Eyes widening, Tsuna looked intently at the dark mark, not daring to touch it for he knew it would hurt badly if he did so. He remembered the older man hitting his cheek with his monstrous strength. The pain was so unbearable and it hurt so terribly to be slapped by him. Feeling a sharp pang in his heart, the boy looked away, not wanting to look at his face anymore.

Not long after the brown haired boy finished looking at his red cheek, the boy decided to slightly move his shirt off one of his shoulders, deeply fearing of what he would find. As he examined his shoulder, he saw dark, bluish and purplish bruises from when the man grabbed him and dug his blunt nails deeply into his skin. The boy felt his pain slice into his heart as seeing the horrid marks on him.

Unknowingly, Tsuna slowly moved the shirt down his arm and stopped when his shocked gaze found more nasty bruises on him. The brunette could feel himself tearing up as he looked at his broken reflection. Finally, with most of his shirt off one side of his body, the boy noticed the all scratches and marks that were embedded on his neck.

Letting out a sob, the boy took his eyes away from the mirror all together, now too disgusted by his own reflection, his bruises and scratches, and worst by the pain the older man inflicted upon him because of his bleeding rage.

"Byakuran…" Tsuna whispered as memories of them and their tragic encounter began appearing in his mind unintentionally.

"_I loved her…and I still do to this very day."_ Tsuna could hear Byakuran's voice clearly inside his head. Upon hearing the damaging words, boy covered his ears trying to block the heartbreaking words out of his mind.

"_I'm still very much in love with Asuka-chan, and now, I can only see myself loving you as a dear friend."_

"Please, stop…" Tsuna pleaded, his hand now grabbing his spiky hair, clenching it tightly in his grief. "Please, go away."

"_**Damn you…"**_ The now poisonous voice haunted the boy's mind as he remembered the burning hatred that fell from the man's lips.

Tsuna could only tighten his grip as he could feel himself rip some of his hair out of his scalp.

"_**I never loved you the way that I love Asuka-chan. I could never love you and have the same feelings that I bear only for her."**_

Distressingly, the boy grabbed on the sides of the sink as he felt himself losing his balance because of his disgusting nausea that churning his stomach and his mind. Each one of the cruel man's words was like an invisible knife stabbing deep inside his heart.

"_**You could never be her replacement. You could never take her place in my heart!"**_

The knife pierced into his heart once again as he let out a small whimper.

"_**I'LL CRUSH YOUR FUCKING THROAT!"**_

Shaky fingers began to slip and lose their grip on the sink. Buckling knees began to lose their steadiness as the boy felt him slowly falling towards the ground.

"_**GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!"**_

Falling to his knees in despair, Tsuna let out a long earth-shattering wail, one unlike any other before. The broken boy slowly slid on the floor, using his arms to cover his face tightly as he began to cry wildly.

"Why!" Tsuna screamed out loud as he began clawing at his already wounded arms as he felt himself losing his mind. "Why did you do this, Byakuran?"

"Why wasn't I good enough you?"

"Why couldn't you love me like you love her?"

"Why did you lie saying you that I was safe with you, that you loved and wanted to be with me?"

"**WHY!"**

And then, there was nothing but complete silence in the room.

For a while, Tsuna did nothing but lay emotionlessly on the freezing floor. The brown orbs that were once vivid and filled with life were now dull and empty. His body that used to be upbeat and full of happiness and love was nothing but a shallow shell that felt nothing but sadness and grief.

By losing Byakuran to Asuka, the boy lost a huge part of himself. By losing the older man's love for him to the older woman, he lost his reason to live and he lost his heart.

The boy felt like a huge fool after everything that happened to him. He felt like a complete idiot for falling in love with Byakuran and believing that they would always love and be together no matter what. And, the most tragic part of it all, when it came to falling madly in love with the amethyst eyed man, Tsuna was unfortunately like a moth, that was enchantingly drawn to the flame…and burned.

Byakuran had caused him nothing but grief ever since he came back into the boy's life. The older man had cheated, lied, and betrayed him. And, the man hurt him mentally by all the lies he told him and all the secrets he kept from him. He hurt the boy emotionally by breaking his heart over and over again. And, the older man hurt him physically by taking his rage out on his body and threatening his life.

The boy knew that after tonight, he would forever be broken, lost, and…_damaged_.

'My Beloved Moon is no more.' Silently, the boy sadly accepted as he finally allowed reality to sink in his mind, no mattered how much it pained him. 'I guess…Byakuran and I just weren't meant to be…'

Slowly picking himself up, Tsuna moved his hand toward his pants pocket and he pulled out his cellphone. Once he had the device out, he began searching for a certain number he desperately needed to call and reach.

'I realize now…' Tears slide down his face as his found the number his was looking for. 'I finally realize now…'

Tsuna pressed the call button on the phone and watched as the calling now message appeared on the screen.

'_I can't stay here.'_

Finally making his choice, the brown haired boy put his phone next to his ear and waited patiently for his call to get through. Not too long after waiting a voice could be heard answering the phone and saying hello from the other line.

"Hello, it's me, Tsuna" The boy said back, trying his best to sound cheerful and hide the sadness in his voice. "I know, I know it's been a long time since I last called." The person on the other line replied excitedly back at the boy. Then, the boy let out a small chuckle by something the person had said to him.

"Hey," Tsuna said, his tone turning serious which immediately caught the attention of the other person, "there's something important I really need to ask you."

**~* XxX ~* 27 *~ XxX *~**

"_The next flight to Italy will be making its departure in ten minutes."_ A lady's voice said over an intercom, warning all the passengers in the airport to hurry and board the plane before it left without them.

Hearing this too, Tsuna, who was now carrying a suitcase filled with all his personal belongings, got up from his seat in the waiting area and began running toward the destination of the plane hastily.

The boy quickly moved through the crowds of bustling people, making sure to use his manners and say an 'Excuse me' here and there whenever he had to rush past or push through them.

When the boy found the gate that would lead to his plane, he legs moved faster and he walked through it and into the plane.

Once the boy was aboard the plane, he immediately went to his designated seat and sat exhaustingly down after he carefully put his things in a compartment. When he was settled in, he then looked out the window as he felt sadness rising in his heart. The boy noticed that he couldn't see the moon anywhere in the nighttime sky.

"Byakuran…" Was the only thing the boy could say when he saw that the moon was nowhere in sight. The boy refused to let himself cry about the man. He wouldn't forgive himself if he let one more tear fall from his eyes because of him.

Then, the brunette suddenly thought about what he was doing and he thought about all his friends and family he was leaving behind. The boy couldn't but feel so bad for leaving the country without telling any of his friends about it.

Of course, when the boy made his choice to go, he told his mother that he wanted to attend school overseas to better his education and view on life. But, deep down inside, he knew that was nothing but a lie. He knew deep in his heart that the real reason he was leaving was to run away from the man that was engraved in his painful memories and hopefully start of new life elsewhere.

He couldn't stay in the one place on earth that would cause him nothing but grief and misery for the rest of his life. He just couldn't do it anymore.

"I'm sorry, everyone." Tsuna said faintly out loud, picturing the faces of all his loved ones in his head and tightening his hands in his lap in sorrow. "I'm so sorry it had to be this way."

Feeling the airplane slowly move and then move upward into the dark sky, closing his sad brown his eyes tightly, Tsuna allowed only one tear to slip from his closed orbs.

'Goodbye.'

* * *

**A/N: *Cries* My poor dear Tsuna! Typing this chapter was one the hardest, saddest thing I have ever done. I'm really sorry if this chapter seemed over-dramatic, really lame, or completely OOC to you guys on some parts. I tried to keep this as realistic as I possibly could, and it's also for the sake of the story. Also, it was harder to type this chapter up and then revise it over and over again. Anyway, I really, really, really hoped you all enjoyed this. Also, don't forget to leave a review! Until next time~! **


	6. Precious Friend

**~* Title: The Way We Were *~**

**~* Rating: M *~**

**~* Pairing(s): ByakuranxTsuna 10027, ByakuranxOC, and others soon. *~**

**~* Summary: AU: Tsuna believed that his relationship with Byakuran was perfect. He believed that he loved him more than anything in the world. After that fateful night, Tsuna's life shattered before his very eyes. Three years later, Tsuna comes face to face with the very man who broke his heart once again. *~**

**A/N: Wow…It's been quite some time since I last updated this, huh? I'm really sorry you guys that I made you wait such a long time for this chapter. A lot of things were and still are going on in my life right now and I just couldn't handle everything at once. I hope you guys can forgive me. Anyway, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, alerted, and this story in their favorites. Like always, you guys are made of awesomesauce and you all really helped me to be able to continue this story! Well, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to read and review~!**

**~* Special Thanks To: Black Magician Mirei, Catxmelons, Patrimohime-sama, kawaiizerochan12, TakeshiYamamoto2980, letterbee96, MissDinosaur, KuronoYume, .fristch, ReinaSaurus, Kichou, baka-viewer, BlueCapricorn, PrimoLover, IceMelody, aerin02, KitsuneNaru, Orange-y27, TotalAmuto, Frostfire613, Lemo, Akari and Kitakami, CH0C0CANDYZ, iLaviRabi, Hikarikurai24587, TsukikoIchihara, iPurple, feelnopain, lolllilolli123, nur-chan, PolefessionalLover3000, Radiant World, JasKyu, hunnyugs, goldchild2, storyprincess92, darklynxproductions, safa56bmc, ShaDow EmpIre, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, KenkonNoMegami, Mintorelated, darkpharie, morino, VongolaXII, narutofweak, Chi Cheshire Neko, ChiNoYuki, Crazzanimefantic, Death by Damnation, Demon-CherryBlossom, demonsLOver, Erephen, Fled, Fumie Hatakeda, gothchickdoll, HIBIRDx3, Insanity Equals Genius, iPurple, Jelen Of Moonlight, kage lady, magicadula, Miko Rin, Raven and the Beast Boy, Sara Blake, SnowieG27, Tariono4ka, xLostStar, MangaFreak15, ****Darkangel-932,** **Chuuuuu, 4everFanfiction, arbr12, belafiorre, Booklover773373kd, DarkEila, , EnyBac, Heartless35, Hijiri Clyden, inari92, kittit24, lulubeck, maya1234, Moonpuzzle, ninjacat99, PandoraMagic, Rem di Luna, Rin Anjeriin, Ryuusen, Sakura Guardian, SomeAwesomeNerd, valkieryknight, Viven, WinterGuardianAngel24, ellen neah, Reije, KawaiiTuna, Magical. , xXxDeMoNaNgEl27xXx, Someone, eroxouji, .7, Code-00, Chibi-Chan120, 07Eve, 1827XLuvXYaoi, Apikins, Artemis Kuromoru, Orienatta morgan, RocknLoveGirl, Sapphiron, Yamazaki Kyou, Kailan121, loveless1232, succendo, HiBiRdEpIc *~**

**~* P.S. If anyone had a name change since the time I started this chapter, I'm sorry if your current name is not up. *~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR!, or any of its characters. It belongs to the lovely Akira Amano.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Precious Friend**

~* Three Years Later *~

It was a warm, breezy morning in one the most beautiful cities in one of the most gorgeous countries in the world, Italy. Everywhere on the city's grounds, people of all sorts flooded the streets like water rushing through a broken dam, moving about rapidly as they began carrying on with their daily lives.

There were some that were young and exuberant, there were others were old and dreary. Some were happy with themselves and their lives, there were others were so depressed with themselves that it took almost the last ounces of their strength just to get up in the morning. There were some ready to begin and prosper successfully in their futures, and there were others awaiting their inevitable fall and eventually, their end.

But, despite all these fortunate and unfortunate people that were currently roaming their city, there were some of those that were still unaware of the day that had already begun.

Inside of a rather nice and decent sized apartment, in one of the bedrooms, there was a body of a person who was clearly wrapped inside the covers on their bed as if trapped inside a sturdy cocoon. Deep in their slumber, the person couldn't hear the continuous beeps of the alarm clock beeping on the nightstand or the person was obviously trying to ignore the blasted thing as best as they could.

However, the wonderful sleep that the person was trying to enjoy to the fullest was about to vanish away.

**Beep!**

**Beep!**

**Beep!**

**Be - **

Quickly, a swift hand darted from under the blankets to turn the ever so annoying device off. Well-trimmed nails lightly trailed the surface of the device for an instant before slowly sliding of it and slumping back onto the bed.

Suddenly, a low groan could be heard erupting from underneath the blankets and the person turned abruptly on their side. Then, after few moments of absolute stillness, the sound of shuffling could be heard from under the covers, and slowly the figure began to arise from their bed.

As the silky fabric slid off the person's body as if it were water, a young man could now be seen sitting up absolutely exhausted in his bed, trying to his body moving. While he stretched out his aching limbs, the sound of bones popping echoed off the walls as they put themselves back into place. Once the man had felt the soreness in his body leave him, he sat still upon his bed, and he slowly let the gentle morning's glow awaken him.

Yawning loudly, the brown haired man slid a hand through his long locks of hair that almost reached down to his lower back. He then rubbed his cloudy eyes while letting another yawn escape from his lips. As he felt the morning's warmth flow over his creamy skin, he finally opened his gems to reveal chocolate colored eyes, such beautiful eyes that could only belong to one person in this world, Sawada Tsunayoshi.

After Tsuna shook himself of the remaining weariness that was still trapped in his body, the brunet's tired eyes glanced hastily at his alarm clock, trying to figure of what the current time was. When he saw that it was almost time for him to get ready for work, he suddenly stood up from his bed and stretched out his entire form once more.

"Well, time to start another day." Tsuna said quietly to himself, his rich chocolaty voice brushed against the walls as he walked towards his bathroom in long strides. When the brown haired man walked inside the room, he reached behind his shower curtain and turned the shower's knob on. Afterwards, he silently at upon his closed toilet seat patiently, waiting for the icy cold water to turn into a warm blissful rain.

Finally, when he put his hand inside the shower and accepted that the water was at the right temperature, Tsuna then began to slowly strip himself of his clothing, letting the clothes pool around his ankles. Carefully, he stepped inside the shower and was immediately welcomed by the soothing water that slid across his cold skin.

Letting out a low sigh of content, the brunet stood completely still under the falling liquid while allowing him to enjoy it as much as he could since the man always loved being able to let his cool body be immersed in warm, comforting water.

Smiling to himself, Tsuna rubbed his shoulders and forearms with his delicate hands. 'Nothing says 'Good Morning' like a nice warm shower.' His eyes were closed with sheer delight as his long, wet tresses were now tickling his back delightfully.

Not long after that, he grabbed his shampoo and conditioner and now was beginning to wash his hair. The brown eyed brunet always took as much time as he could to properly clean and prepare himself every day. If it was one thing he learned over the course of his life it was that cleanliness was a very important part of everyday life, especially when you had to interact with many different people all the time in the work force.

Soon, once he felt his brown locks were completely clean, he proceeded to wash his entire body. Snatching up his orange wash rag, he poured some of his shower gel upon it and he let some of the water fall on top of it before applying it to his smooth flesh. As he washed himself, the soap on his body slowly trailed down him as the water took it on a voyage down his slim chest and abdomen, down his curving back and spine, sliding down past his ever creamy legs, and eventually into the drain.

'I think I've been in here long enough, I better get out before I become late.' Tsuna thought to himself before turning off the faucet before grabbing one of the white towels that were thrown over the shower rail. After he slowly stepped out of the shower, he wrapped the towel tightly around his waist and he dried his wet hair with the other one.

After the brunet was finished drying himself off, he walked to his closet, searching for some clothes that he could wear for work today. Luckily for him, he was able to pull out and find a fresh clean suit jacket and a pair of matching black slacks to wear with a white button-up shirt to wear underneath it all.

Once he had all his work attire together, he went over to his dresser, taking the clothes with him, and took out a clean pair of boxers and a pair of white socks.

With sufficient ease, he began to dress himself in a matter of a few minutes. After he was done getting fully dressed, grabbing a brush that was sitting on the dresser, he brushed the chocolate stream of hair and eventually tied it up in a low ponytail. Then, after that, he bent down to the floor and slid the socks and a pair of shiny black dress shoes on his feet. When he was tied the last shoe on his right foot, he stood up again to look at himself in the mirror upon his dresser to see if his appearance was acceptable to him.

Staring back at him with unyielding eyes, Tsuna couldn't help but lose himself in his thoughts as he looked intently at his reflection. As the thoughts and memories over the recent years flowed through his mind, he thought about how different he had become over the last few years.

Despite not going through a huge drastic change over the years, Tsuna had changed quite a bit during that fair share of time. The once sad and broken-hearted boy he once was had turned into a decent and fairly independent young man who had grown quite a bit in both personality and self-esteem. It took him a long time before he was able to find his reason to move forward and start thinking for himself for once in his life.

When he first came to Italy, he thought that he was going to have a fresh start at being happy again. However, that was not to be. The wounds in his heart only opened up again, leaving him heartbroken once again. Since he was going through some rough times then, he wasn't really sure what he wanted in his life due to him feeling completely hopeless and alone at the time, and feared rejection of any kind.

He just didn't have the will to begin his life anymore. That fire and determination that he once had when he decided to leave his home was now gone and it didn't seem like it would ever return to him.

For a while, the poor brunet pretty much kept only to himself and he wouldn't even tell his dearest friend, who he contacted almost immediately after the tragedy that had befallen upon him, what was wrong because he denied himself to speak of the horrible events that had broken him to what he thought was beyond repair.

Fortunately, later in time, things were finally starting to change radiantly for him, and it was all thanks to his precious friend. His dear friend was the one who helped him pull through the first few hard and painful months when he knew he wouldn't be able to get past them on his own. His friend was the one who gave him a shoulder to cry on when he felt like that the only thing he thought he deserved in life was never-ending heartbreak and despair.

He was thankful for all the care his friend had given him, the sweet words of encouragement that helped aid him when he desperately needed to hear them, and he was very thankful for all the time and affection that used to help pick up and place back the pieces of his broken heart.

Not to mention, he also had to acknowledge that he looked a lot healthier now too. He remembered how he was after he left his home. His body was very thin and fragile from not getting enough rest and eating at all, knowing that he wouldn't be able to do either of the two successfully. He remembered how there were dark circles under his eyes. He let his hair grow out to an incredible length, even for someone like him who wasn't used to having long hair in the slightest. At that time, he just didn't have the heart to get it cut off during his time of depression. And, it wasn't just that. His skin became so very pale that it reminded him of the winter snow that fell from the heavens late in the year.

Now, smiling to himself, Tsuna knew that he owed a lot to his friend and he was very thankful to have someone care for him so much. He knew that he was lucky to have such a reliable person love him so much because during time it seemed that a lot of people were starting to care less and less about each other with each passing day.

As long as he lived, he would never ever forget that love and kindness that was given to him during his time of need. Not now, not ever.

Tsuna began to look over his dresser to make sure that it wasn't too messy for his liking. As his eyes scanned to look for anything out of place, he noticed a picture that was sitting in the middle the dresser. As if in a trance, the young man reached out and grabbed the photo and he brought to himself to stare at the contents.

In the photo was Tsuna when he was the tender age of fourteen, standing in the middle of his friends, Yamamoto and Gokudera, at the park. They were all smiling brightly in the picture and since it was a sunny day when the picture was taken, it only seemed to enhance the sheer happiness the enshrouded around the boys gracefully.

The brunet remembered this moment with his friends so clearly. It was such a simple, yet lovely day and they all wanted to hang out with each other. The day was just too beautiful for words. The sun was shining ever so brightly in the light blue sky and there wasn't a single cloud in sight. They all looked so happy in the photo that even the young man couldn't help but smile too. But, as soon as it had settled on his, it suddenly vanished away from him.

"I really miss you guys." Tsuna smiled sadly down at the picture in his hands. "I hope you two are doing okay…without me." He felt his eyes become watery with tears, but he immediately blinked them back after he sat the picture back down on the dresser. The brunet knew that this wasn't the time to let his loneliness out.

Despite feeling remorseful about leaving his friends without so much as a goodbye, he knew that he had no choice but to leave them. It hurt him deeply knowing what he did, but he couldn't turn back time no matter how hard he tried. It just couldn't be.

Glancing over at his clock again, Tsuna saw that he didn't have too much time left before he had to leave. He quickly went back to the mirror to check his appearance one last time. When he saw that nothing, not even a little strand of hair, was out of place, he walked out of his bedroom and gently closed the door behind him.

**~* XxX ~* 27 *~ XxX *~**

While Tsuna was walking down a small hallway that led to his room and other rooms, Tsuna stopped in his tracks when he smelled a weird scent flowing through the air. The man stood there for a moment, wondering where the strange, yet familiar scent was coming from. It didn't take the brunet too long to figure out what the smell reminded him of.

'Smoke…?' He thought to himself, but he immediately shook the thought away, scolding himself for thinking such an absurd thing. 'No. It couldn't be smoke, could it? I mean, I don't remember leaving anything on yesterday.' A silly smile grew on the young man's face as he couldn't help but be humored by his own thoughts.

"There is just no way it could be…"

Suddenly, there was a light trail of black floating through the air, and from what it seemed, it was coming from inside the kitchen. Brown eyes widen considerably in alarm as they watched the black air flow through the apartment in silence. Terrified, the brown haired man quickly walked toward the kitchen, fear slowly edging its way into his fast, beating heart.

"Oh my God…" Tsuna whispered quietly as he did his very best to keep as calm as he could. "Please tell me that I didn't leave the stove on last night!" He pleaded with a slightly heavy heart as he neared his way toward the kitchen's entryway.

Slowly, the young brunet went closer to the corner of the kitchen's entrance. When he stood right at the edge of the corner, he took a long, deep breath and silently prayed that the situation and whatever damage was probably inflicted inside the room was not too horrible. As he slowly began to peek in the room, he was both shocked and stunned at the sight that he saw.

Inside the kitchen, there was a nothing short of destruction all over the room. There were all kinds of food that covered the floor; there were puddles of water all around the sink.

was a very frantic young man with crimson red hair that was desperately trying to put a small fire that was burning in a skillet full of what looked like fiery pancakes on the stove out. The red haired male yelped when he accidently burned himself by touching the incredibly hot stove top. The panicking man's back was turned at Tsuna so he didn't know that the brunet was standing there watching him.

"Come on, you stupid flame!" The red haired man begged loudly, frantically slapping a kitchen towel on the fire as fast as his arms would allow him to. "Please, please, please just go out already!"

Suddenly, breaking out of his daze, Tsuna decided that he had seen enough and that he was going inside to stop the madness that was ablaze in his kitchen. The long haired man was about to step inside and assist the other man, but the brunet stopped in his tracks when he saw the redhead grab a large pitcher of lemonade and immediately threw it at the flame.

Luckily, for the both of them, the flaring flame went out like a light once the liquid consumed it. Tremendously relieved at his success, the panting red haired male let out a tired sigh as he walked toward the kitchen table and he sat down in one of the chairs before putting his head in his folded arms.

Tsuna finally let out the breath that he had held in for so long. He hadn't realized that the air in his lungs had left him during his state of panic and distress until he felt it return to him in his relief.

It took a few minutes before either of the two males moved or made a sound. Soon, it was Tsuna who decided to make the first move since he chose to walk into the kitchen and sit down at the table that the redhead was currently residing. Slowly, he put his hand one of the other man's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Enma-kun, are you okay?" Tsuna asked with a highly concerned tone, his worried brown eyes were carefully inspecting to see if the other had any serious injuries on him. Startled at hearing the brunet's voice, the red haired man quickly looked up and unwavering chocolate orbs were staring into a pair of bright rubies.

"'I'm fine, Tsuna-kun." Enma whispered shyly as he finally found his voice after all that time. Tsuna gave the red eyed man a small smile after he gave another comforting squeeze on the man's shoulder. He felt his heart become calm ease once he heard the other man's reply. He was very glad that the red haired man was alright and that nothing bad had happened to him. What we he do if he had to send his dear precious friend to the hospital?

Yes, this was the very friend that saved him from falling into the deepest, darkest pits of despair. This was the same friend who took him in when he moved to Italy and helped heal his broken heart when he knew he could not heal it by himself. This was the dear someone he was once very close to as a child before the redhead and his family moved to Italy on one sad winter's day.

If anything happened to the redhead, Tsuna would never be able to forgive himself. He owed everything to the man in front of him. He alone was the reason why Tsuna became the person he was today.

Kozato Enma, a young man who he used to be exactly like him when he was younger. He was a person who used to be a main target for bullying when he was in school along with the brunet unfortunately. He was also known to have had a very low self-esteem and could be very clumsy which Tsuna could honestly relate to.

But, there was one thing Tsuna knew for sure. Enma saved him.

"I'm glad that you didn't get hurt." The brunet said honestly, giving Enma a brilliant smile. "I almost thought I lost you there." At hearings his friend's sweet and comforting words, the redhead couldn't help but give the brunet a smile of his own, his ruby eyes flashing happily as a serene feeling began to wash over him, making him feel very calm.

For a few minutes, they allowed each other the opportunity to just sit in absolute silence. It was a moment like this when the two didn't mind sitting quietly, thinking to themselves or silently speaking to one another with their eyes and their variety of lively facial expressions.

Their bond was a very strong, unbreakable one. They had always been there for one another through the good times and the bad ones. They both shared memories that made their hearts flutter with joy and they had memories that made their eyes watery with sorrow as a wave of sadness would wash over them. They both knew that they were willing to do anything to protect and care for the other, and because of this it gave them a sense of peace.

However, there were times when they needed to speak to one another, but they didn't exactly know how to approach the other in a way that they would be able to easily communicate with one another without feeling that they were trying to force the situation on the other.

Now, both the brunet and the redhead felt an awkward air spread around them and they both knew why. It was starting to become a little uncomfortable between the two as Tsuna began tapping with his fingertips on top of the table and Enma shifted in his chair uneasily, staring intently at the table's surface as a way to shield himself from his discomfort.

As the silence became more unbearable for the both of them by the minute, the brown haired man decided that it was time to break through the invisible barrier between them.

"Hey, Enma-kun," the younger man began as he let his eyes look upon his friends flushed face. "How come there was a fire earlier?" The redhead visibly flinched in his seat, which didn't go unnoticed by the worried chocolate eyed male, but the brunet continued to press further on the matter. "Was the oven left on late last night? Was it an accident? Please…tell me."

Enma's face became redder and redder by the second to the point that his face almost matched his crimson hair. The older male seemed to fidget even more in his chair after Tsuna asked him about the fire. Tsuna knew that the redhead was hiding something from him, but he didn't want to force the other male to tell him. He would wait until the other was comfortable enough to tell him for as long as he had to.

The redhead nearly shrunk in his seat because he knew that his brown haired friend was secretly unyielding when it came to these situations. He knew the other male was not going to let what had happened slide by and he also knew that the other wasn't going to let him forget either.

Suddenly, letting out a long sigh of defeat Enma slowly let his red orbs peer into chocolate ones. Taking a deep breathe, Enma readied himself to tell Tsuna, his best friend, the truth of the recent incident.

"I-I wanted to make you b-breakfast this morning." Quietly, the red haired man finally spoke with an obviously shaky and embarrassed tone in his voice.

"I wanted to do something special for you since you've been so working hard lately… Everything seemed to be going well for once, I actually thought that I was going to get everything right for once…until I started making the pancakes." Crimson eyes flashed upon the table top again in utter humiliation. "I accidently let them sit on the stove too long and…well…you saw what happened."

Tsuna stared at his friend with slightly wide eyes after hearing what had just happened. Without any warning whatsoever, a loud and bright laughter erupted from the younger man which in return made the red haired man blush blossom into a deeper red.

"I'm sorry, Enma-kun." Tsuna said while wiping a small tear away from the corner of his eye as a few more giggles escaped from his lips. After the brunet found himself coming down, he let out a small breathe of air before looking at the older man with warm brown eyes. "I didn't mean to laugh, honest. I couldn't help but be reminded of the first time I made my mother breakfast on Mother's Day. Let's just say that I would've burned down my house if my mother didn't come with the fire extinguisher."

Tsuna let out a small chuckle again as he remembered the memory of that Mother's Day. He could remember himself panicking the same way his red haired friend was. In his frantic state, he did his best in putting out the tuna shaped waffles he tried to make, but he was unsuccessful. It was thanks to his mother that the fire was eventually put out. Not long after that, they both couldn't help but laugh and laugh until they couldn't laugh anymore!

For a moment, despite the brown haired man remembering the very humorous memory, he couldn't help but let his eyes become teary once again as he thought about his mother.

'I really miss her.' He thought sadly as he tried to keep himself from crying. Enma noticed his friend's sudden change as he looked worriedly at the other.

"Tsuna-kun…" Enma whispered warily as he saw the brunet quickly wipe the unshed tears from his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Tsuna quietly said as he quickly began to compose himself so that he wouldn't worry his friend anymore. "I think it was very sweet what you tried to do for me and I really do appreciate it a lot."

After a moment, Tsuna's eyes turned very warm as his orbs stared intently at the redhead. "Thank you so much, Enma-kun…for everything." A beautifully mesmerizing smile bloomed on the brunet's heart shaped face. Enma looked up Tsuna in surprise and then a small grin of his own appeared on his flushed face.

"Y-You're welcome, Ts-suna-kun." The red haired man replied back timidly, suddenly feeling light headed with all that blood that seemed like it was rushing to his head.

**Beep**

**Beep**

**Beep**

Chocolate eyes quickly flashed toward the watch on the wall and then they widen in surprise when they saw what the time was.

"Oh shoot!" Jumping up from his seat, Tsuna frantically grabbed his briefcase off the floor and he darted towards the door. But, before he ran out of his apartment, the brunet quickly retreated back into the kitchen and he gave Enma a big hug from behind the crimson eyed male's chair.

"Have a great day off, Enma-kun!" Tsuna said joyfully, accidentally stunning the older male at his sudden action. The red haired male couldn't help but stay still in his place, blushing furiously as he felt the brunet's soft fingers slowly slide across his arms gently. After a couple moments, the younger man eventually released him before he trotted back toward the entrance door and left immediately after locking the door behind him.

"Have a great day too…Tsu-kun." Enma whispered quietly as he looked toward the direction where his dear friend departed with his sparkling eyes.

As Tsuna was about to get in his car, he looked back at his apartment with a glorious smile on his elegant face.

'Thank you, Enma-kun.' Tsuna thought fondly of the redhead as he entered his black vehicle and drove off to toward the large metropolis.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry if this one wasn't as exciting as the other ones. I just wanted to make sure I didn't rush this plot and story too much. But, I promise that the next chapter will have a bit more excitement in it! Anyway, thank you for reading and don't forget to leave a review~! Until next time, guys!**


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